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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. chest — of your body
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cue — for pool
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. field — farmland
  12. chest — a box
  13. degree — from a university
  14. field — a subject
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — for sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. date — the fruit
  21. row — a line
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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