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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bound — certain
  7. land — a country
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. land — ground
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bat — the animal
  15. present — a gift
  16. land — to come down
  17. bound — tied together
  18. present — the time now
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. present — there
  23. degree — an amount
  24. drill — the tool

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