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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. chest — of your body
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. scale — size or range
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bulb — for light
  8. degree — from a university
  9. file — a document
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. scale — in music
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chest — a box
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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