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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 · spring · chest · lash · temple · kick · coach · tear

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spring — the season
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. tear — from crying
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. toast — bread
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. spring — of water
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. kick — in football
  20. spring — a coil
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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