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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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Word bank
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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: lie · pop · tube · chair · chest · bark · wave · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pop — soda
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. race — a contest
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tube — a container
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pop — music
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bark — to shout
  24. chest — a box

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