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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. row — to paddle
  3. march — music
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. march — the month
  8. rash — hasty
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bound — obliged
  11. band — a music group
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bound — tied together
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chair — a leader
  18. band — a ring
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rash — a series

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