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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fine — high quality
  4. key — in music
  5. last — to go on
  6. degree — temperature
  7. charge — a price
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fine — all right
  11. last — final
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. tube — the underground
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chest — a box
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. chest — of your body
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. charge — electricity
  22. last — finally
  23. charge — in control
  24. tube — a container

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