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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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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: club · wake · hide · degree · bound · mine · cell · pit

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bound — certain
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bound — obliged
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cell — in biology
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cell — a phone
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. club — a group
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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