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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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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: spell · chest · straw · bound · race · bore · lash · chip

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. spell — letters
  7. bore — to drill
  8. chip — for betting
  9. spell — magic
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chest — a box
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bound — obliged
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. race — humankind
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spell — a short time
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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