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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: rush · bore · stand · mark · track · fan · chest · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bore — to tire
  4. chest — a box
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. content — the amount
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. track — a song
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. mark — a trace
  16. track — to keep track
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. stand — to bear
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bore — to drill
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rush — hurry
  24. track — a path

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