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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: chest · temple · land · bound · degree · bear · bulb · swing

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. land — to come down
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. chest — of your body
  6. land — a country
  7. bound — certain
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bulb — for light
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bear — the animal
  13. land — ground
  14. bear — the animal
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bulb — for light
  19. swing — music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. chest — of your body
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chest — a box

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