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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mug — a face
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bass — low music
  8. hand — help
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bound — certain
  12. clip — a video
  13. bound — tied together
  14. mug — a cup
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mug — to rob
  23. clip — for paper
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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