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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. drill — the tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chest — a box
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — temperature
  11. root — the cause
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. drill — army training
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — of a plant
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. drill — a practice

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