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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. degree — an amount
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. key — in music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. chest — a box
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. key — for a lock
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — to crush
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. row — to paddle
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. degree — from a university
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

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