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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — a video
  5. bound — tied together
  6. degree — temperature
  7. track — a song
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rush — hurry
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. ground — the earth
  19. dip — to sink
  20. track — a path
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bound — certain
  23. track — to keep track
  24. clip — to cut

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