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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · last · stick · wind · rush · fine · rash · bound

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chest — a box
  3. rash — hasty
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — hurry
  10. last — to go on
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — obliged
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. last — finally
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bound — tied together
  22. last — final
  23. rash — a series
  24. wind — moving air

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