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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bound — certain
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — an illness
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. staff — employees
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pass — a permit
  11. bound — obliged
  12. plane — a tool
  13. degree — an amount
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. staff — a stick
  22. degree — temperature
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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