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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cell — in biology
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. spring — of water
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spring — the season
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bound — certain
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cell — a phone
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bound — tied together
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. lie — an untruth

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