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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mark — a trace
  8. chest — a box
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mark — a grade
  11. lean — thin
  12. spring — of water
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. spring — the season
  22. shower — rain
  23. bore — to drill
  24. degree — an amount

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