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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 116 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. face — to confront
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bound — certain
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bound — obliged
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. spring — the season
  12. face — part of the head
  13. spring — a coil
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. mine — an explosive

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