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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 · march · tear · bat · toast · mine · cap · foot

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cap — a lid
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. march — the month
  6. cap — a hat
  7. tear — from crying
  8. foot — a measure
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. tear — to rip
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. toast — bread
  15. march — music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cap — of ice
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. tear — from crying

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