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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 120 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 · hand · wound · bark · rush · mark · chest · bore

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rush — hurry
  7. chest — of your body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. mark — a trace
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bark — to shout
  17. hand — help
  18. bore — to drill
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chest — a box
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wound — an injury

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