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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 · mark · march · straw · racket · lash · band · toast

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. chest — of your body
  3. march — the month
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. march — music
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. mark — a grade
  15. march — the month
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. chest — a box
  18. band — a music group
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. toast — bread
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mark — a trace

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