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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — not warm
  5. firm — a company
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chest — a box
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fine — all right
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bass — low music
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. fine — high quality
  18. firm — steady
  19. fork — in a road
  20. firm — decided
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cold — an illness

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