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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: stand · face · chest · race · rest · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. face — to confront
  3. chest — of your body
  4. race — a contest
  5. chest — of your body
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. rest — what's left
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chest — a box
  12. snap — to click
  13. rest — a break
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. face — to point toward
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stand — to bear

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