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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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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: mark · rest · deal · board · chest · kid · current · trunk

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. current — of water
  3. chest — a box
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. kid — to tease
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rest — what's left
  13. mark — a grade
  14. rest — a break
  15. chest — of your body
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. current — electric
  19. mark — a trace
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rest — what's left
  22. deal — to handle
  23. current — happening now
  24. kid — child

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