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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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