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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: rash · file · hide · chest · board · bowl

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a committee
  6. rash — a series
  7. board — to get on
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. file — a line of people
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chest — a box
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool

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