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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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. pit — a hole
  3. kid — child
  4. bound — tied together
  5. degree — from a university
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. rule — government
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rule — a law
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bound — certain
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bulb — for light
  16. board — a committee
  17. pit — in a race
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. board — to get on
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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