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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 · content · rash · bore · branch · straw

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. content — the amount
  8. bore — to tire
  9. branch — a division
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. chest — a box
  16. bore — to drill
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man

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