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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: degree · bound · bat · rash · cap · staff · leaves · wake

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bound — certain
  6. wake — a trail
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. cap — of ice
  9. staff — a stick
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bound — tied together
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. staff — employees
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cap — a hat
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rash — a series

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