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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 120 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bound — tied together
  4. fall — the season
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. land — ground
  7. bound — obliged
  8. race — a contest
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. plane — a tool
  12. mine — for digging
  13. land — a country
  14. race — humankind
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — the arms race
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. land — to come down
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rock — to move gently

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