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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: bound · degree · branch · patient · bear · foot · spring · march

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bear — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. branch — a division
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. spring — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bound — certain
  14. foot — a measure
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bound — obliged
  20. degree — from a university
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bear — the animal

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