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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pop — music
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — certain
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bat — the animal
  7. roll — a list
  8. pass — a permit
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lean — thin
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bound — obliged
  20. degree — temperature
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. chest — of your body
  24. roll — a cake

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