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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. degree — an amount
  3. saw — the tool
  4. perch — the fish
  5. club — a group
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bound — tied together
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. degree — from a university
  11. club — for dancing
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. saw — the tool
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. season — of the year
  16. club — for golf
  17. season — in sport
  18. bound — certain

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