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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 · tube · club · bowl · trunk · cold · bore · deal

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bore — to tire
  6. club — for dancing
  7. tube — the underground
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. club — a group
  14. bore — to drill
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. deal — to handle
  19. chest — a box
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. club — for golf
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bore — gave birth

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