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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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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: bound · mate · drill · bear · board · degree · court · clip

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. degree — from a university
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bound — certain
  8. bear — the animal
  9. court — of law
  10. drill — the tool
  11. court — of a king
  12. bound — tied together
  13. degree — an amount
  14. clip — to cut
  15. drill — a practice
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. drill — army training
  20. bear — the animal
  21. court — for sport
  22. mate — a partner
  23. degree — temperature
  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