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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. branch — a division
  4. chest — a box
  5. degree — from a university
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — temperature
  9. saw — the tool
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pitch — completely
  20. kick — in football
  21. chest — of your body
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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