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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: cold · bore · stick · toast · rash · chest · wound · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chest — a box
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. rash — hasty
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. rash — a series
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. toast — bread
  24. cold — an illness

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