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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. face — to confront
  3. land — to come down
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. bound — obliged
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. face — to point toward
  11. land — a country
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. land — ground
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bound — tied together
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bound — certain
  24. patient — a sick person

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