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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: toast · wound · march · cabinet · chest · last · kick · tear

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. march — music
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kick — in football
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. last — final
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. march — the month
  18. toast — bread
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — to rip
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. wound — an injury

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