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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: fall · lean · degree · land · bass · ball · leaves · last

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. fall — the season
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. lean — thin
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. last — final
  12. ball — a dance
  13. land — a country
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fall — to drop
  17. land — to come down
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. ball — a great time
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. degree — an amount
  24. land — ground

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