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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: land · chest · jam · kid · race · season · object · tear

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. season — in sport
  5. land — a country
  6. kid — child
  7. race — a contest
  8. object — an aim
  9. chest — a box
  10. kid — to tease
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. tear — from crying
  14. object — to protest
  15. land — ground
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chest — of your body
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tear — from crying
  22. season — of the year
  23. object — a thing
  24. land — to come down

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