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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 120 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: pass · chest · rest · tear · pitcher · kick · last · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chest — a box
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pass — a permit
  8. race — a contest
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. last — finally
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kick — in football
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chest — of your body

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