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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bound — tied together
  4. drill — a practice
  5. snap — to click
  6. bound — certain
  7. cell — a phone
  8. club — for golf
  9. row — a line
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bank — of a river
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bank — for money
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bound — obliged
  17. club — a group
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. drill — army training
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bank — for money
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. row — to paddle

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