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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mate — a friend
  3. chest — a box
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. chest — of your body
  11. content — the amount
  12. bass — the fish
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to sink
  15. land — a country
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mate — to breed
  18. content — happy
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. land — ground
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. land — to come down
  24. bass — low music

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