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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. pit — in a race
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — ground
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. land — a country
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bound — certain
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. plane — a tool
  23. land — to come down
  24. degree — from a university

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