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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. dip — to sink
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. chest — a box
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chest — of your body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wake — a trail
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. nail — on a finger

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