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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: date · cold · bound · bat · object · firm · club · degree

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. cold — an illness
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — an aim
  10. firm — a company
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. object — a thing
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. object — to protest
  15. bound — certain
  16. firm — decided
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bound — tied together
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bound — obliged
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bat — the animal
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. firm — steady

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