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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. last — final
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rule — government
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. rule — a law
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. degree — from a university
  10. scale — in music
  11. degree — temperature
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. mark — a grade
  15. chest — a box
  16. last — to go on
  17. degree — an amount
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mark — a trace
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. chest — of your body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. last — finally

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