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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
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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: dip · file · degree · court · bound · rule · lean · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. rule — government
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mine — for digging
  7. file — a tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lean — thin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. dip — to sink
  13. file — a document
  14. bound — certain
  15. court — for sport
  16. bound — obliged
  17. court — of a king
  18. bound — tied together
  19. file — a line of people
  20. court — of law
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — to bend
  24. dip — to dunk

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