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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: degree · chest · cap · lie · straw · cell · present · mouse

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cap — a hat
  4. present — a gift
  5. cell — in biology
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. present — the time now
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cap — a lid
  12. present — there
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chest — a box
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — to recline
  23. cap — of ice
  24. mouse — 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