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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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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 · chest · tube · cell · kid · can · rest · fall

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. can — a tin
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. can — to be able to
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rest — what's left
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bore — to drill
  22. can — a tin
  23. tube — a container
  24. rest — a break

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