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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. key — in music
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chest — a box
  9. can — to be able to
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. key — the most important part
  13. band — a ring
  14. can — a tin
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. row — to paddle
  17. key — for a lock
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. band — a music group
  23. row — a line
  24. can — a tin

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