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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: degree · land · ball · temple · bound · rule · bear · fan

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. land — ground
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rule — government
  8. bear — the animal
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bear — the animal
  13. land — a country
  14. ball — a great time
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bound — certain
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rule — a law
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bound — tied together
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. land — to come down

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