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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: wind · pass · bear · chest · foot · bowl · race · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bear — the animal
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. foot — a measure
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. toast — bread
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. chest — a box
  24. wind — moving air

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