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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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Word bank
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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: chest · date · tear · rest · spring · craft

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rest — what's left
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spring — a coil
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. spring — the season
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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