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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. face — to point toward
  3. spring — of water
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bound — certain
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. clip — a video
  8. present — a gift
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. present — the time now
  11. bound — tied together
  12. spring — a coil
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. clip — to cut
  15. face — to confront
  16. bat — the animal
  17. face — part of the head
  18. snap — to click
  19. spring — the season
  20. clip — for paper
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. present — there

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