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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.

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: bound · lie · club · leaves · file · degree · rule · trunk

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. rule — a law
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. file — a line of people
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bound — certain
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. lie — to recline
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. club — for dancing
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bound — tied together
  16. club — a group
  17. bound — obliged
  18. degree — temperature
  19. file — a document
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. club — for golf
  22. rule — government
  23. file — a tool
  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