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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bound — obliged
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. snap — to click
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. degree — from a university
  8. season — of the year
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. race — a contest
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — an amount
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bore — to drill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. season — in sport
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. race — humankind
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bore — to tire

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