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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: race · file · bat · game · pass · chest · pound · stand

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. race — the arms race
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. file — a tool
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. chest — a box
  16. game — a match
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pass — a permit
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. race — a contest

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