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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fork — in a road
  8. track — a path
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bat — the animal
  16. dip — to sink
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. track — a song
  23. chest — a box
  24. fork — to eat with

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