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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bound — obliged
  10. race — a contest
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. rule — government
  13. squash — to crush
  14. degree — from a university
  15. race — humankind
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rule — a law
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bound — certain
  20. fork — in a road
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rest — a break

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