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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. current — of water
  9. current — electric
  10. race — the arms race
  11. face — to point toward
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. chip — for betting
  14. lean — to bend
  15. race — a contest
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. current — happening now
  18. face — to confront
  19. race — humankind
  20. lean — thin
  21. kick — in football
  22. chest — a box
  23. face — part of the head
  24. degree — from a university

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