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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. ground — crushed
  4. chest — a box
  5. rock — a stone
  6. ground — the earth
  7. kid — child
  8. degree — from a university
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — music
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. kid — to tease
  17. dip — to sink
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a skill
  22. chest — of your body
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. chest — of your body

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