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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 · cold · pound · bear · rock · craft

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — music
  10. pound — a weight
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. craft — a skill
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. craft — boats
  17. rock — a stone
  18. bear — the animal

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