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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mate — a partner
  4. chest — of your body
  5. object — a thing
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. saw — the tool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mate — a friend
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fine — high quality
  14. saw — the tool
  15. tear — from crying
  16. object — to protest
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fine — all right
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mate — to breed
  22. chest — a box
  23. object — an aim
  24. degree — temperature

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