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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: hand · chest · bore · bat · wax · race · fine · rash

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rash — a series
  7. fine — high quality
  8. race — humankind
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. race — a contest
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. fine — all right
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. race — the arms race
  19. hand — help
  20. chest — a box
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bore — to tire
  24. hand — part of the body

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