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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bank — of a river
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. branch — a division
  6. bound — tied together
  7. land — a country
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. degree — from a university
  10. tube — a container
  11. land — to come down
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bound — certain
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cold — an illness
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — for money
  23. land — ground
  24. pound — a weight

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