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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bound — tied together
  6. last — final
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wound — an injury
  9. staff — a stick
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bound — obliged
  12. staff — employees
  13. last — to go on
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. last — finally
  19. bound — certain
  20. staff — employees
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fork — in a road

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