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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chest — of your body
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cell — a phone
  5. suit — in cards
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. spell — magic
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. degree — an amount
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spell — a short time
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chest — a box
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. spell — letters
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. suit — clothes

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