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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bound — tied together
  4. rule — a law
  5. game — a match
  6. present — there
  7. mine — for digging
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rule — government
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. degree — an amount
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — a permit

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