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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mug — to rob
  3. cap — a lid
  4. degree — temperature
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bound — tied together
  7. saw — the tool
  8. degree — from a university
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bound — certain
  11. cap — a hat
  12. lie — to recline
  13. march — the month
  14. bound — obliged
  15. mug — a face
  16. march — music
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cap — of ice
  19. march — the month
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. saw — the tool
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mug — a cup

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