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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: toast · bass · kid · spring · race · rest · lie · pitcher

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. toast — bread
  8. race — humankind
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rest — what's left
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bass — the fish
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. lie — to recline
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spring — the season
  18. rest — a break
  19. race — a contest
  20. spring — of water
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. kid — child

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