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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. game — a match
  3. bound — certain
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bound — obliged
  6. game — wild animals
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. foot — a measure
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wound — an injury
  18. branch — a division
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. season — of the year
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wound — an injury
  24. season — in sport

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