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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: hide · degree · bay · saw · spring · bound · tube · bat

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tube — the underground
  3. degree — from a university
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tube — a container
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bound — certain
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — obliged

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