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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: dip · fall · pop · cold · bound · trunk · degree · net

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bound — obliged
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to sink
  5. degree — from a university
  6. fall — to drop
  7. degree — temperature
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bound — tied together
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bound — certain
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — an amount
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. net — for catching
  21. pop — soda
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pop — music
  24. fall — the season

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