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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rule — a law
  3. degree — an amount
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. object — a thing
  8. chest — a box
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. object — to protest
  13. rule — government
  14. chest — of your body
  15. object — an aim
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. degree — from a university
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. wax — to grow
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. kid — child

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