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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: chest · pass · pound · ground · season · can · race · kid

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. race — a contest
  4. can — a tin
  5. pound — a weight
  6. ground — crushed
  7. can — to be able to
  8. chest — of your body
  9. season — in sport
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. chest — of your body
  13. season — of the year
  14. chest — a box
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pass — a permit
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. kid — child
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. can — a tin
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ground — a position
  24. kid — to tease

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