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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bound · fall · degree · cabinet · club · rule

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bound — obliged
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bound — tied together
  5. rule — a law
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rule — government
  9. bound — certain
  10. degree — temperature
  11. club — a group
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. rule — to rule out

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