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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — a face
  4. land — ground
  5. mug — to rob
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bound — tied together
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. board — a committee
  12. scale — in music
  13. bound — obliged
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cap — a hat
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bound — certain
  21. land — a country
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. board — to get on

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