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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chest — a box
  4. game — wild animals
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. dip — to sink
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. chest — of your body
  11. drill — army training
  12. degree — an amount
  13. game — a match
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. squash — to crush
  17. saw — the tool
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. saw — the tool
  21. squash — the sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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