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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: ball · chest · fall · shower · key · bore · rash · track

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. key — the most important part
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. track — a song
  7. ball — a great time
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. key — in music
  11. track — to keep track
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rash — a series
  15. chest — a box
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bore — to drill
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bore — to tire
  24. track — a path

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