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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chest — a box
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rule — a law
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. rule — government
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wax — to grow
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rule — to rule out

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