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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: bound · degree · capital · rule · object · hide · chest · tear

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bound — certain
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bound — obliged
  5. chest — of your body
  6. object — a thing
  7. capital — a city
  8. object — to protest
  9. degree — an amount
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. rule — government
  12. chest — a box
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. capital — money
  21. rule — a law
  22. bound — tied together
  23. object — an aim
  24. degree — temperature

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