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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pound — a weight
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. pit — a hole
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. court — of a king
  14. pit — in a race
  15. court — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. spell — magic
  20. chest — a box
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. fork — in a road
  24. court — of law

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