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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mark — a trace
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mark — a grade
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. hand — help
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. march — music
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bound — obliged
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — temperature
  24. march — the month

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