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

Word bank: stick · swing · tear · fork · bound · lean · degree · net

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. net — after costs
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fork — in a road
  7. degree — an amount
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bound — certain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bound — tied together
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lean — thin
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. net — in sport
  22. bound — obliged
  23. net — for catching
  24. lean — to rest against

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