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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 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chest — a box
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bound — tied together
  7. rest — a break
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chip — for betting
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bound — obliged
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bound — certain

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