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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: spell · rest · leaves · chest · present · track · plane · race

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — a short time
  4. track — to keep track
  5. rest — what's left
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. spell — letters
  8. rest — what's left
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. race — the arms race
  11. spell — magic
  12. plane — a tool
  13. present — a gift
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. track — a song
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. present — the time now
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — a box
  20. present — there
  21. chest — of your body
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. plane — an aircraft

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