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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cell — a phone
  4. object — an aim
  5. race — humankind
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. object — a thing
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chest — of your body
  13. race — a contest
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chest — a box
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. degree — from a university
  20. object — to protest
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. ball — a great time

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