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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bound — obliged
  3. squash — to crush
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bass — low music
  8. squash — the sport
  9. capital — a city
  10. bass — the fish
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — temperature
  13. spring — the season
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. suit — clothes
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bound — tied together
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bound — certain
  22. capital — money
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — in cards

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