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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 · pop · ground · degree · trunk · object · lean · bound

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pop — music
  3. object — a thing
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bound — certain
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ground — crushed
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. lean — to bend
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pop — soda
  15. object — to protest
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ground — a position
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bound — tied together
  22. object — an aim
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lean — thin

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