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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. deal — to handle
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chest — of your body
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. squash — the sport
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bark — to shout
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pitch — completely
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chest — a box
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cabinet — ministers

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