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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: bore · row · fork · chest · rock · cold · cap · cell

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rock — music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rock — a stone
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — a hat
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. cap — a lid
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cold — not warm
  16. row — a line
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. fork — a garden tool

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