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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 · plane · lash · bound · bore · roll · game · rash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bound — tied together
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. chest — of your body
  8. roll — a list
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. roll — a cake
  12. chest — a box
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bore — to drill
  17. plane — a tool
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bound — obliged
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bound — certain
  24. rash — a series

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