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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: rash · fan · stem · ground · cold · bound · perch · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bound — obliged
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cold — an illness
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bound — tied together
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rash — hasty
  16. stem — to come from
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bound — certain
  21. degree — an amount
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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