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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: pit · mine · cap · bound · wake · degree · game · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cap — a hat
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bound — certain
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cap — of ice

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