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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rule — government
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bound — certain
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — a coil
  12. kid — to tease
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. rule — a law
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bound — tied together
  17. spring — the season
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. spring — of water
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kid — child
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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