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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: cold · rash · bore · court · chest · club · bowl · pitch

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — an illness
  3. club — for golf
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. court — of law
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. club — for dancing
  9. chest — a box
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rash — a series
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. club — a group

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