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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
468
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: staff · degree · leaves · cell · pound · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. staff — employees
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — in biology
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. staff — employees
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. leaves — lets stay

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