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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: kid · ball · lie · degree · chest · chair · nail · drill

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. drill — a practice
  2. degree — an amount
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. drill — the tool
  6. chest — a box
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a great time
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chair — a leader
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. degree — from a university
  18. drill — army training
  19. degree — temperature
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. lie — to recline
  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