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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. degree — temperature
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. chip — to eat
  6. pop — music
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. present — there
  10. drill — the tool
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chip — for betting
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pop — soda
  19. drill — army training
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. pop — to visit
  22. drill — a practice
  23. chest — a box
  24. rush — hurry

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