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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: chest · foot · kick · pop · degree · pit · cap · bass

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. foot — a measure
  3. pop — soda
  4. bass — low music
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — the fish
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pop — to visit
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cap — a hat
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pop — music
  16. cap — of ice
  17. kick — in football
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cap — a lid
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. chest — a box

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