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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. degree — temperature
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. squash — the sport
  7. pop — soda
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. scale — in music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. squash — to crush
  14. saw — the tool
  15. chest — a box
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. pop — music

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