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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chest — a box
  4. bark — to shout
  5. present — there
  6. chest — of your body
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. degree — temperature
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. capital — a city
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. present — the time now
  13. capital — money
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. swing — to play on
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. kick — in football
  23. swing — music
  24. chest — of your body

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