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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 · mine · kid · toast · snap · rash · track · bore

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. track — a path
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bore — to drill
  9. snap — to click
  10. mine — for digging
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. toast — bread
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. chest — a box
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. track — to keep track
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chest — of your body
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rash — a series

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