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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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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: current · chest · key · face · race · toast · leaves · prune

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. prune — to trim
  3. current — of water
  4. prune — to trim
  5. key — for a lock
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. face — to point toward
  9. toast — bread
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. current — electric
  14. race — the arms race
  15. key — in music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. chest — of your body
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. current — happening now

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