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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 · pit · present · cell · snap · spring · toast · charge

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. pit — in a race
  3. spring — a coil
  4. present — there
  5. cell — a phone
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. toast — bread
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chest — a box
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chest — of your body
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — a gift
  23. chest — of your body
  24. toast — the most admired

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