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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. degree — from a university
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. staff — employees
  6. bound — tied together
  7. staff — employees
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. bound — obliged
  12. staff — a stick
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stem — to come from
  17. lean — thin
  18. clip — a video
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. degree — an amount
  21. toast — bread
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. lean — to bend

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