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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · spring · pop · hand · racket · race · chest · bore

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pop — music
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — of water
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. pop — to visit
  8. hand — help
  9. bore — to drill
  10. hand — in cards
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bore — to tire
  14. chest — of your body
  15. spring — a coil
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pop — soda
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. spring — the season
  23. race — humankind
  24. bore — gave birth

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