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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bound — certain
  3. track — a path
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. capital — money
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bound — tied together
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. track — to keep track
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. mine — for digging
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. track — a song
  19. game — a match
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bound — obliged

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