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

Word bank: kid · degree · chest · pit · net · mate · mark · squash

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. net — in sport
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mark — a grade
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mate — a partner
  10. kid — child
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mark — a trace
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pit — in a race
  19. net — for catching
  20. pit — a hole
  21. net — after costs
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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