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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: cabinet · season · mark · swing · bound · cell · degree · bat

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. degree — from a university
  5. swing — music
  6. bound — certain
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bat — the animal
  9. season — of the year
  10. degree — temperature
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bound — tied together
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mark — a trace
  22. season — in sport
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mark — a grade

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