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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 124 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. root — of a word
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chest — of your body
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. chest — a box
  8. pit — a hole
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — the cause
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fine — high quality
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fine — all right
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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