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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. track — a path
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. land — ground
  6. cap — a lid
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. game — a match
  9. clip — to cut
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. cap — of ice
  16. land — a country
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. pop — music
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. track — a song
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. land — to come down
  24. hide — to keep secret

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