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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: wind · pound · foot · court · spring · bass · leaves · degree

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. degree — temperature
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. court — of law
  8. bass — low music
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spring — of water
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wind — moving air
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. degree — from a university
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. court — of a king
  23. spring — the season
  24. court — for sport

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