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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. track — to keep track
  4. object — an aim
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. track — a path
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. chest — a box
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. object — to protest
  13. track — a song
  14. object — a thing
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. tube — a container
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kick — in football
  21. rush — hurry
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. chest — of your body
  24. leaves — of a tree

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