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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chest — of your body
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bore — to tire
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bore — to drill
  9. kick — in football
  10. chest — a box
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. degree — from a university
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. hand — help
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cap — a hat
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. hand — in cards
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cap — of ice

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