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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 120 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 · land · degree · spell · cabinet · ground · cap · mate

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bound — tied together
  3. ground — a position
  4. bound — obliged
  5. spell — magic
  6. bound — certain
  7. mate — a friend
  8. spell — a short time
  9. cap — a lid
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cap — a hat
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mate — a partner
  15. land — a country
  16. mate — to breed
  17. cap — of ice
  18. ground — the earth
  19. land — ground
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spell — letters
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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