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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 120 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. board — to get on
  5. degree — an amount
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. board — a committee
  13. chest — of your body
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chest — a box
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. kid — to tease
  23. chest — of your body
  24. trunk — of a tree

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