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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cell — a phone
  4. drill — the tool
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chip — for betting
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. spell — letters
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. drill — army training
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. spell — a short time
  22. prune — to trim
  23. spell — magic
  24. chip — to eat

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