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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bat — the animal
  9. drill — army training
  10. bound — tied together
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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