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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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Word bank
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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 · row · bulb · trunk · degree · scale · mate · stick

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — a line
  3. chest — a box
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mate — a friend
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bulb — for light
  9. mate — to breed
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bulb — for light
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. degree — from a university
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mate — a partner
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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