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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chest — a box
  5. suit — to fit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. game — a match
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. key — the most important part
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. key — in music
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bore — to tire
  17. present — the time now
  18. suit — clothes
  19. bore — to drill
  20. game — wild animals
  21. suit — in cards
  22. present — there
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chest — of your body

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