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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 116 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bound — obliged
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cold — an illness
  8. degree — from a university
  9. scale — in music
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. degree — an amount
  16. scale — size or range
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. scale — for weighing

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