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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: bay · ground · chest · cap · tear · race · mine · bulb

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. ground — a position
  3. cap — of ice
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. ground — the earth
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — a contest
  9. chest — of your body
  10. race — humankind
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chest — a box
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. mine — for digging

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