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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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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: chest · foot · race · kid · lean · bore · bat · current

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. lean — to rest against
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chest — a box
  6. current — electric
  7. chest — of your body
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. lean — to bend
  14. current — happening now
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. race — humankind
  17. lean — thin
  18. race — a contest
  19. foot — a measure
  20. current — of water
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kid — child
  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