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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rash — a series
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. chest — a box
  15. staff — employees
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. staff — employees
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. degree — an amount
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. rash — hasty

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