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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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Word bank
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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. drill — the tool
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. drill — army training
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. capital — money
  11. rash — hasty
  12. chest — a box
  13. drill — a practice
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — a city
  19. degree — an amount
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. degree — from a university
  24. scale — size or range

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