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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. bound — tied together
  4. board — a committee
  5. degree — from a university
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. track — to keep track
  10. swing — music
  11. board — to get on
  12. degree — an amount
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bound — certain
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cold — not warm
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. tear — from crying
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — an illness

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