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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. bound — obliged
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. charge — in control
  9. charge — a price
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wound — an injury
  13. charge — electricity
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. degree — from a university
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cold — an illness
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bound — tied together
  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