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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.

Make a worksheet

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: land · object · bay · spring · degree · wind · cap · racket

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — from a university
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. spring — of water
  8. wind — moving air
  9. object — to protest
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. spring — the season
  12. wind — moving air
  13. land — a country
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. land — ground
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. object — an aim
  18. cap — a lid
  19. object — a thing
  20. cap — of ice
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cap — a hat
  24. degree — an amount

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