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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · chest · bear · field · band · firm · craft · race

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. drill — army training
  5. firm — decided
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. field — a subject
  10. drill — the tool
  11. firm — steady
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. chest — a box
  14. race — humankind
  15. bear — the animal
  16. firm — a company
  17. craft — boats
  18. bear — the animal
  19. band — a ring
  20. race — a contest
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. band — a music group
  23. craft — a skill
  24. band — a rubber band

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com