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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: coach · chest · cabinet · toast · kick · race · bass · deal

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. race — humankind
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bass — low music
  14. chest — a box
  15. bass — the fish
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. deal — to handle
  18. kick — in football
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. race — the arms race
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. toast — bread

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