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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bound — tied together
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. staff — employees
  5. mark — a grade
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bound — certain
  8. degree — an amount
  9. staff — employees
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. chest — a box
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. staff — a stick
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bound — obliged

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