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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 120 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: bore · cold · chest · bound · season · rest · bear · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bound — certain
  6. season — in sport
  7. cold — an illness
  8. race — the arms race
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bear — the animal
  11. rest — a break
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bore — to drill
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chest — a box
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. race — humankind
  21. season — of the year
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bound — obliged
  24. rest — what's left

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