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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bound — obliged
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. court — for sport
  6. plane — a tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. face — to confront
  9. court — of a king
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. degree — from a university
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bound — tied together
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. face — to point toward
  22. court — of law
  23. bound — certain
  24. fork — to eat with

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