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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. net — in sport
  3. rest — what's left
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. march — music
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — a group
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rest — a break
  15. kid — child
  16. chest — a box
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — for catching
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kid — to tease
  22. club — for dancing
  23. net — after costs
  24. march — the month

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