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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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. land — a country
  4. degree — temperature
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. season — in sport
  7. degree — an amount
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bore — to tire
  17. land — ground
  18. season — of the year
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. chest — a box
  24. land — to come down

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