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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 · mark · leaves · lean · bulb · fall · game · stock

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. degree — an amount
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fall — the season
  8. bulb — for light
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. game — a match
  11. mark — a grade
  12. stock — shares
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lean — thin
  16. mark — a trace
  17. stock — goods
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bulb — for light
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fall — to drop

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