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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 · date · content · pitch · race · chest · lash · jam

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rest — a break
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. race — humankind
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. chest — a box
  8. date — the fruit
  9. rest — what's left
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. content — happy
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. pitch — completely
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. rest — what's left
  23. content — the amount
  24. date — on the calendar

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