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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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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: bear · present · bore · chest · wound · rash · craft · roll

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. chest — of your body
  3. roll — a list
  4. chest — a box
  5. craft — boats
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. present — the time now
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rash — hasty
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bore — to drill
  16. chest — of your body
  17. roll — a cake
  18. rash — a series
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. present — there
  22. wound — an injury
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. roll — on a roll

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