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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bound — obliged
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bound — tied together
  8. degree — temperature
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. file — a tool
  13. race — the arms race
  14. band — a music group
  15. degree — an amount
  16. file — a document
  17. cell — in biology
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bound — certain
  20. cell — a phone
  21. band — a ring
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. degree — from a university

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