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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rock — music
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. key — in music
  7. degree — from a university
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wind — moving air
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. chest — of your body
  16. degree — temperature
  17. key — for a lock
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rock — a stone
  23. degree — an amount
  24. sharp — with an edge

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