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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: cap · march · chest · tear · kick · rock · board · race

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rock — music
  5. race — a contest
  6. board — to get on
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. cap — a hat
  10. march — music
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — a stone
  18. kick — in football
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. march — the month
  24. kick — a thrill

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