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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. chest — a box
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. board — a committee
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. plane — a tool
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. chest — of your body
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — an amount
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. degree — temperature
  19. kid — to tease
  20. degree — from a university
  21. board — to get on
  22. kid — child
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. chest — of your body

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