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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. last — to go on
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bound — obliged
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. last — finally
  11. date — the fruit
  12. last — final
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. perch — the fish
  15. degree — temperature
  16. staff — a stick
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bound — tied together
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bound — certain
  21. degree — an amount
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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