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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. band — a music group
  3. firm — steady
  4. band — a ring
  5. firm — a company
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bound — obliged
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bound — certain
  12. mark — a trace
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mate — a partner
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bound — tied together

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