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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · court · degree · rush · leaves · clip · land · bear

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bound — tied together
  4. court — for sport
  5. land — a country
  6. court — of a king
  7. land — ground
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bound — certain
  13. clip — for paper
  14. court — of law
  15. rush — hurry
  16. degree — an amount
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — obliged
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. land — to come down
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. clip — to cut
  24. degree — from a university

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