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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: bay · kid · stock · bound · chest · rock · prune · bore

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bore — to drill
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rock — music
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — obliged
  7. rock — a stone
  8. kid — child
  9. bound — tied together
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chest — a box
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — goods
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. stock — shares
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. chest — of your 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