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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. face — to confront
  3. season — of the year
  4. land — a country
  5. court — for sport
  6. land — ground
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. bound — obliged
  11. court — of law
  12. bass — low music
  13. net — after costs
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. season — in sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. net — for catching
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bound — tied together
  22. land — to come down
  23. net — in sport
  24. bass — the instrument

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