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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. degree — from a university
  6. lean — to bend
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. current — happening now
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bore — to drill
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. current — electric
  19. chest — a box
  20. bore — to tire
  21. current — of water
  22. lean — thin
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. perch — for a bird

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