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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · bound · club · bowl · ground · file · chest · fine

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fine — high quality
  5. ground — a position
  6. fine — all right
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. club — for golf
  9. file — a document
  10. chest — a box
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bound — certain
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bound — tied together
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bound — obliged
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. file — a tool
  23. club — a group
  24. degree — from a university

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