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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: degree · bound · scale · coach · land · leaves · straw · temple

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. degree — temperature
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. land — a country
  8. bound — obliged
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bound — tied together
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bound — certain
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. land — ground
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. land — to come down
  22. scale — in music
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. scale — size or range

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