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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 · track · toast · chair · face · mine · deal · spring

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. face — part of the head
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mine — for digging
  11. spring — the season
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chest — of your body
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. chest — a box
  18. deal — to handle
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. toast — bread
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. chest — of your body

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