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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bound — certain
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bound — tied together
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. spell — a short time
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bound — obliged
  16. spell — magic
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spell — letters
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. tube — a container
  21. mine — for digging
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mine — an explosive

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