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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bound — certain
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spell — letters
  5. net — after costs
  6. bound — obliged
  7. spell — magic
  8. degree — an amount
  9. net — in sport
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — for catching
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. spell — a short time
  17. present — there
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bound — tied together
  20. present — the time now
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. present — a gift
  24. degree — temperature

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