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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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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: capital · present · chest · bound · straw · bore · prune · kid

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. present — the time now
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — a box
  6. kid — to tease
  7. capital — money
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bound — tied together
  10. kid — child
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bound — certain
  13. present — there
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chest — of your body
  16. present — a gift
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bound — obliged
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. capital — a city
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bore — to drill
  24. straw — dry grass

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