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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: degree · row · jam · spring · mine · bark · bound · firm

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. row — a line
  3. spring — the season
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. row — to paddle
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. firm — steady
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. bark — to shout
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — decided
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bound — tied together

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