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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: foot · field · tube · safe · chest · bay · degree · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tube — a container
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. field — a subject
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chest — of your body
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. field — farmland
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. degree — from a university
  16. tube — the underground
  17. foot — a measure
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. field — for sport
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chest — a box
  23. snap — to click
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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