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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — from a university
  3. firm — steady
  4. plane — a tool
  5. firm — decided
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. firm — a company
  8. ball — a dance
  9. clip — a video
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ball — a great time
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — an amount
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. clip — to cut
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. chest — a box
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. fork — in a road

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