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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: lean · ball · degree · land · clip · toast · bound · fan

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — certain
  6. lean — thin
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. lean — to bend
  9. clip — for paper
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. land — to come down
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. clip — a video
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — ground
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bound — obliged
  18. toast — bread
  19. clip — to cut
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. ball — a great time
  24. land — a country

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