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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. degree — temperature
  6. land — a country
  7. face — to confront
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bound — certain
  13. face — to point toward
  14. degree — from a university
  15. saw — the tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. face — part of the head
  18. board — to get on
  19. clip — a video
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spring — the season
  23. board — a committee
  24. land — ground

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