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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 · foot · temple · ground · bore · spell · clip · stock

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. chest — a box
  7. ground — crushed
  8. clip — to cut
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. clip — a video
  14. spell — letters
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ground — a position
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spell — a short time
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. bore — to tire
  23. foot — a measure
  24. spell — magic

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