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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. 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. mine — for digging
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. press — newspapers
  7. track — a song
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pound — a weight
  12. track — to keep track
  13. press — to push
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. track — a path
  17. bound — tied together
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stem — to come from
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. press — a publisher
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. 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