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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · ground · season · spell · wind · degree · chest · bank

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. season — in sport
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bank — for money
  7. season — of the year
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spell — magic
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spell — letters
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ground — a position
  15. degree — from a university
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wind — moving air

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