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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 120 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: rock · dip · season · wind · race · spring · key · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — to sink
  3. rock — music
  4. chest — a box
  5. rock — a stone
  6. race — a contest
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. season — in sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — of water
  15. key — in music
  16. race — humankind
  17. season — of the year
  18. key — for a lock
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. key — the most important part
  23. chest — of your body
  24. race — the arms race

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