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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. land — ground
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. land — a country
  6. degree — temperature
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. degree — an amount
  14. drill — army training
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bound — certain
  17. mark — a grade
  18. land — to come down
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. mark — a trace

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