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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cue — for pool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wake — a trail
  13. kick — in football
  14. cue — a hint
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cue — a signal
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. chest — a box

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