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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 · jam · lie · present · foot · spring · race · toast

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. spring — the season
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. toast — bread
  6. spring — of water
  7. present — the time now
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. chest — a box
  11. lie — to recline
  12. chest — of your body
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. race — humankind
  16. spring — a coil
  17. race — a contest
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. present — there
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. present — a gift
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. chest — of your body

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