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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. press — a publisher
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. bound — tied together
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. kick — in football
  8. cold — not warm
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. vault — a safe
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bound — certain
  16. degree — temperature
  17. press — newspapers
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wax — to grow
  22. press — to push
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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