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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: land · kid · fine · march · leaves · rush · degree · bound

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. kid — to tease
  3. march — music
  4. land — a country
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. bound — obliged
  8. land — to come down
  9. degree — from a university
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. fine — all right
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bound — certain
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. fine — high quality
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bound — tied together
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. land — ground

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