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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 · degree · bowl · file · spring · bark · cue · rock

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bound — obliged
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bark — to shout
  7. spring — the season
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bound — certain
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. rock — music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. file — a tool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. spring — of water
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cue — a signal
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. degree — from a university
  23. file — a document
  24. cue — for pool

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