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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. degree — temperature
  5. race — a contest
  6. lie — to recline
  7. race — humankind
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pop — soda
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. ball — a dance
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chest — a box
  20. ball — a great time
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. pop — music
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chest — of your body

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