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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: toast · pit · bank · squash · sharp · wound · race · chest

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. race — humankind
  7. sharp — clever
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bank — for money
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bank — for money
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. race — the arms race
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bank — of a river

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