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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rock — a stone
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — there
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. present — a gift
  17. bound — obliged
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — not warm
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wound — an injury
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rock — music
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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