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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fork — in a road
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. wind — moving air
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. band — a ring
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bound — certain
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. band — a music group
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bound — tied together
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. game — a match

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