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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: track · toast · bear · chest · pound · rush · rash · cold

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pound — a weight
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chest — of your body
  5. track — a song
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chest — a box
  8. track — a path
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — bread
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bear — the animal
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. chest — of your body

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