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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. roll — a cake
  3. rock — a stone
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tube — the underground
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tube — a container
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. rock — music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. degree — temperature
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. roll — on a roll

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