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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. degree — temperature
  5. scale — in music
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — an amount
  13. scale — size or range
  14. lie — to recline
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bass — low music
  20. degree — from a university
  21. kid — child
  22. chest — a box
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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