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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: toast · present · race · rush · tear · chest

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. present — the time now
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chest — a box
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. chest — of your body
  12. present — there
  13. rush — hurry
  14. race — the arms race
  15. toast — bread
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. tear — from crying
  18. present — a gift

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