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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 116 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: stand · degree · lean · ground · fan · bound · clip · present

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. stand — to bear
  10. present — there
  11. lean — thin
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. ground — a position
  14. present — a gift
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bound — certain
  18. lean — to bend
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. present — the time now
  21. bound — obliged
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bound — tied together
  24. clip — a video

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