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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: chest · pound · bat · content · bore · safe · perch · race

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. chest — a box
  4. bat — the animal
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bore — to drill
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. race — the arms race
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. content — the amount
  13. pound — a weight
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bore — to tire
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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