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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: rash · spring · degree · key · rule · bound · mate · clip

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. mate — a friend
  3. spring — of water
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — a series
  6. key — the most important part
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bound — tied together
  9. rash — hasty
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. key — for a lock
  14. mate — a partner
  15. spring — the season
  16. rule — a law
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bound — obliged
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bound — certain
  24. rule — government

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