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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: chest · bear · track · kick · bowl · kid

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kid — child
  15. chest — a box
  16. track — a song
  17. kick — in football
  18. bowl — a dish

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