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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. chest — of your body
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. cap — a lid
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pitch — completely
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. band — a music group
  12. cap — a hat
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. squash — to crush
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. degree — temperature
  24. squash — the sport

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