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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: court · rule · pass · object · bound · degree · wind · file

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. object — to protest
  3. file — a tool
  4. court — for sport
  5. bound — obliged
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rule — a law
  8. bound — tied together
  9. object — a thing
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — of a king
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. object — an aim
  19. rule — government
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bound — certain
  22. degree — an amount
  23. court — of law
  24. file — a line of people

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