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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. clip — to cut
  6. saw — the tool
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bat — the animal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rash — a series
  13. pass — a permit
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bound — certain
  19. saw — the tool
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rash — hasty
  22. degree — an amount
  23. clip — a video
  24. rash — on the skin

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