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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: bat · chest · rush · current · pound · face · bore · track

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. track — a path
  3. face — to confront
  4. chest — of your body
  5. track — a song
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. current — happening now
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. face — to point toward
  16. current — of water
  17. bore — to drill
  18. current — electric
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. pound — for dogs

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