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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. face — to confront
  3. bound — obliged
  4. face — to point toward
  5. land — ground
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. land — a country
  11. bear — the animal
  12. root — of a word
  13. degree — from a university
  14. root — the cause
  15. bound — certain
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — an amount
  18. land — to come down
  19. pit — a hole
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pit — in a race
  24. face — part of the head

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