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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · degree · hide · pit · cap · bear

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bear — the animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cap — a hat
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pit — a hole
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cap — of ice
  18. hide — to keep secret

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