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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: stick · prune · wound · race · chair · pound · chest · game

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. race — the arms race
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. race — humankind
  7. game — a match
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. prune — to trim
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. chair — a leader
  19. race — a contest
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. wound — an injury
  23. game — wild animals
  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