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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: ground · content · lash · land · degree · bass · firm · lean

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bass — the fish
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. content — the amount
  7. land — ground
  8. firm — steady
  9. content — happy
  10. ground — crushed
  11. land — to come down
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ground — the earth
  15. degree — from a university
  16. lean — to bend
  17. firm — a company
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. firm — decided
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. land — a country

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