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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: mate · pit · degree · chest · rock · stick · fan · game

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. game — a match
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pit — a hole
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rock — music
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rock — a stone

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