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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. degree — from a university
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. swing — music
  6. stock — shares
  7. bound — tied together
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. band — a music group
  15. stock — goods
  16. row — a line
  17. band — a ring
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bound — certain
  22. kid — child
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. swing — to play on

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