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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 · race · spring · can · nail · toast · cabinet · fall

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fall — to drop
  4. can — a tin
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. chest — of your body
  10. race — humankind
  11. toast — bread
  12. chest — of your body
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. spring — the season
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. fall — the season
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. race — a contest
  22. spring — of water
  23. chest — a box
  24. race — the arms race

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