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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bass — low music
  5. can — to be able to
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. staff — employees
  10. mate — a partner
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. staff — employees
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bass — the fish
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. staff — a stick
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. can — a tin
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chest — a box
  24. can — a tin

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