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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 · lash · chest · club · date · toast

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for golf
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chest — a box
  9. club — for dancing
  10. race — humankind
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. toast — bread
  18. chest — of your body

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