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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. ground — a position
  3. kid — to tease
  4. charge — in control
  5. charge — a price
  6. file — a document
  7. kid — child
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bound — certain
  10. pop — soda
  11. charge — electricity
  12. degree — from a university
  13. craft — boats
  14. ground — the earth
  15. file — a line of people
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pop — music
  18. file — a tool
  19. ground — crushed
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bound — obliged
  23. craft — a skill
  24. degree — temperature

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