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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — from a university
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. rest — a break
  7. game — wild animals
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. pit — a hole
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pit — in a race
  15. net — after costs
  16. bound — certain
  17. field — farmland
  18. rest — what's left
  19. degree — an amount
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bound — tied together
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. degree — temperature
  24. temple — a place of worship

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