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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 · tube · toast · race · field · mate · wave · jam

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. race — a contest
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. mate — to breed
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. race — humankind
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. mate — a friend
  15. chest — a box
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. toast — bread
  18. tube — a container
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mate — a partner
  22. tube — the underground
  23. race — the arms race
  24. field — farmland

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