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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: bound · racket · game · degree · drill · chest · toast · bear

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chest — of your body
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. drill — the tool
  11. game — a match
  12. drill — army training
  13. degree — temperature
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. drill — a practice
  16. toast — bread
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bound — certain
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — a box
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bear — the animal

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