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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 120 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: bear · chair · calf · kid · face · chest · mate · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mate — a partner
  4. chest — a box
  5. bear — the animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bear — the animal
  17. face — to confront
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. degree — from a university
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. mate — a friend
  24. face — part of the head

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