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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 120 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. game — wild animals
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rest — what's left
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rest — a break
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rest — what's left
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. kid — child
  20. chest — a box
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. game — a match
  24. calf — a young 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