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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 120 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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. file — a tool
  3. bound — certain
  4. file — a document
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cold — an illness
  7. degree — an amount
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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