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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: chest · kick · present · last · root · march

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chest — a box
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — a gift
  7. march — the month
  8. root — of a plant
  9. march — the month
  10. present — there
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — the cause
  13. kick — in football
  14. last — finally
  15. root — of a word
  16. last — to go on
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. march — music

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