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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: rest · kid · spring · deal · perch · race · sharp · chest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. deal — to handle
  5. kid — child
  6. race — a contest
  7. spring — a coil
  8. race — the arms race
  9. rest — what's left
  10. race — humankind
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. sharp — clever
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. kid — to tease
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rest — a break

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