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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: dip · pop · mine · chair · degree · bound · roll · wound

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bound — obliged
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pop — music
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pop — to visit
  11. wound — an injury
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bound — certain
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. roll — a list
  18. pop — soda
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. roll — a cake
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. roll — on a roll

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