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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. face — to confront
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chip — to eat
  8. squash — to crush
  9. present — the time now
  10. bound — certain
  11. face — part of the head
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. present — there
  14. face — to point toward
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bound — tied together
  17. land — a country
  18. squash — the sport
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chip — for betting
  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