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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: bound · chest · bank · degree · cap · hide · wound · pass

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bank — for money
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bound — tied together
  8. cap — a lid
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bank — of a river
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cap — a hat
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bank — for money
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bound — certain
  23. chest — a box
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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