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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: tear · toast · rest · bowl · chest · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. snap — to click
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. chest — a box
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tear — to rip
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rest — a break
  17. chest — of your body
  18. toast — bread

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