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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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Word bank
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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 · can · race · cold · jam · spell · plane · temple

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. can — a tin
  5. spell — a short time
  6. race — the arms race
  7. spell — magic
  8. plane — a tool
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. spell — letters
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cold — an illness
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. can — a tin
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. cold — the Cold War

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