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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pit — a hole
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ball — a great time
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. bass — the fish
  11. drill — a practice
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. drill — the tool
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. drill — army training
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chest — a box

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