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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — an amount
  3. march — music
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. march — the month
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. march — the month
  12. toast — bread
  13. chest — a box
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. shower — to wash
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. pitch — completely
  20. chest — of your body
  21. shower — rain
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. mine — for digging

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