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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: craft · pit · content · chest · fork · rash · bound · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bound — certain
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. chest — a box
  7. craft — a skill
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pit — a hole
  14. rash — hasty
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rash — a series
  18. cold — not warm
  19. craft — boats
  20. content — the amount
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. content — happy
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bound — obliged

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