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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. march — music
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bound — obliged
  7. march — the month
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. band — a ring
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ground — a position
  17. band — a music group
  18. march — the month
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wake — before a funeral

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