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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. tube — a container
  12. dip — to sink
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bass — low music
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. degree — an amount
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. chest — a box
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. kid — child

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