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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ground — the earth
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. object — to protest
  7. cue — a signal
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — moving air
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. ground — a position
  12. chest — a box
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. degree — from a university
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cue — for pool
  21. object — a thing
  22. cue — a hint
  23. object — an aim
  24. wind — moving air

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