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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: mark · degree · chest · squash · staff · bound · cap · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. staff — a stick
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bound — obliged
  5. mark — a trace
  6. squash — to crush
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cap — a hat
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cap — a lid
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. staff — employees
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bound — tied together
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wound — an injury
  20. staff — employees
  21. degree — an amount
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bound — certain
  24. chest — a box

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