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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bound — obliged
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. squash — the sport
  8. degree — an amount
  9. tear — from crying
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. club — a group
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bound — certain
  16. squash — to crush
  17. club — for golf
  18. land — to come down
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. land — ground
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wound — an injury

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