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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rule — government
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. snap — to click
  8. rule — a law
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. degree — an amount
  18. file — a document
  19. bound — certain
  20. file — a tool
  21. content — the amount
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. content — happy
  24. file — a line of people

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