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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. drill — a practice
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — a phone
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. court — of a king
  16. drill — the tool
  17. content — happy
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. degree — temperature
  20. court — for sport
  21. drill — army training
  22. court — of law
  23. degree — an amount
  24. content — the amount

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