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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: nail · rash · object · chest · field · cap · kid · degree

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kid — child
  3. cap — a lid
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cap — a hat
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — farmland
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. object — a thing
  12. degree — an amount
  13. object — an aim
  14. cap — of ice
  15. rash — a series
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. chest — a box
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. degree — temperature
  22. object — to protest
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. rash — hasty

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