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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.

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: degree · fall · lash · bulb · date · bound · chest · land

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bound — tied together
  7. land — to come down
  8. degree — temperature
  9. fall — the season
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bound — obliged
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bound — certain
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. land — a country
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chest — a box
  21. degree — from a university
  22. land — ground
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. chest — of your body

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