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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. chest — a box
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chest — of your body
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. kid — child
  9. spell — magic
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. degree — an amount
  12. foot — a measure
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kick — in football
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. degree — from a university
  19. file — a tool
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stand — to bear
  24. file — a line of people

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