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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: bass · degree · fan · wind · leaves · perch · deal · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bass — the fish
  5. degree — an amount
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. lean — to bend
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. lean — thin
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wind — moving air
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. bass — low music
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. deal — to handle
  24. degree — from a university

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