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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: pass · chest · race · prune · tear · mine · toast · rash

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — from crying
  4. race — the arms race
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rash — a series
  9. race — humankind
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chest — a box
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. race — a contest
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. toast — bread
  19. tear — from crying
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rash — hasty
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. toast — the most admired

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