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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. chest — of your body
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bound — tied together
  5. chest — a box
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bound — obliged
  10. drill — army training
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bass — low music
  15. bound — certain
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. chest — of your body
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. drill — the tool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bass — the fish
  24. degree — an 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