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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bound — tied together
  6. clip — to cut
  7. degree — temperature
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bulb — for light
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bulb — for light
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bound — certain
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bound — obliged
  22. branch — a division
  23. clip — a video
  24. fan — a supporter

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