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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 · lash · ground · rush · bat · foot · rock · bore

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bat — the animal
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. ground — a position
  10. rock — music
  11. bore — to tire
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. foot — a measure
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bore — to drill
  18. rock — a stone
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chest — a box
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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