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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. court — of a king
  5. bound — certain
  6. degree — from a university
  7. lean — to bend
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rock — music
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. degree — temperature
  17. court — for sport
  18. cell — a phone
  19. degree — an amount
  20. court — of law
  21. rock — a stone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. field — a subject
  24. bound — obliged

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