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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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Word bank
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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: rule · degree · saw · mine · rest · bound · court · rash

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bound — certain
  5. rash — a series
  6. court — of a king
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. court — for sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — a break
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rule — a law
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. mine — for digging
  22. court — of law
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rule — government

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