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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: clip · fan · firm · face · bear · fall · stand · degree

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. degree — temperature
  3. firm — a company
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bear — the animal
  7. face — to confront
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. face — to point toward
  14. firm — decided
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bear — the animal
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — a video
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. firm — steady
  22. face — part of the head
  23. degree — from a university
  24. clip — to cut

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