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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. track — a path
  3. land — ground
  4. clip — a video
  5. chest — a box
  6. chair — a leader
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. can — a tin
  10. track — to keep track
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chest — of your body
  14. can — to be able to
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. land — a country
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. land — to come down
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. can — a tin
  22. degree — from a university
  23. clip — to cut
  24. track — a song

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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