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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.

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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: bound · straw · spell · net · bulb · march · ground · degree

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. ground — the earth
  5. march — music
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bound — certain
  9. bulb — for light
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ground — crushed
  16. march — the month
  17. bound — obliged
  18. degree — temperature
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. net — in sport
  22. ground — a position
  23. march — the month
  24. bulb — for light

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