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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 124 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bound — certain
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. row — a line
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cell — a phone
  17. row — to paddle
  18. face — to point toward
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bound — tied together
  21. degree — an amount
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. row — a quarrel

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