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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: toast · chest · key · track · staff · kid · patient · march

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. track — a song
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. kid — to tease
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a path
  12. staff — employees
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. chest — of your body
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chest — of your body
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. chest — a box
  23. key — in music
  24. track — to keep track

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