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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: bear · bowl · bass · land · degree · last · lean · cabinet

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. degree — an amount
  9. land — ground
  10. lean — thin
  11. last — final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bass — low music
  16. lean — to bend
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bear — the animal
  19. land — a country
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. degree — temperature
  23. land — to come down
  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