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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. fine — all right
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fine — high quality
  9. band — a ring
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bound — certain
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wound — an injury
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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