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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: bowl · fan · degree · spring · bound · patient · land · prune

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. land — a country
  8. spring — a coil
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bound — obliged
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spring — of water
  14. degree — an amount
  15. land — ground
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. land — to come down
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bowl — a football final

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