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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. spring — of water
  3. bound — tied together
  4. race — a contest
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — certain
  7. degree — from a university
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wake — a trail
  10. degree — an amount
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rule — a law
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. race — humankind
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. spring — the season
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. race — the arms race
  24. sharp — with an edge

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