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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: game · date · rush · net · bound · bore · firm · chest

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. firm — steady
  3. rush — hurry
  4. net — in sport
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — obliged
  9. chest — a box
  10. firm — decided
  11. game — a match
  12. firm — a company
  13. net — after costs
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — to drill
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. net — for catching
  24. bound — certain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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