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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. degree — an amount
  5. content — happy
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bound — obliged
  8. chair — a leader
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pass — a permit
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cell — a phone
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. drill — army training
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cell — in biology
  23. content — the amount
  24. drill — a practice

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