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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. degree — from a university
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cold — not warm
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rest — a break
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. chest — of your body
  24. nail — for a hammer

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