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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bat — the animal
  3. land — ground
  4. mug — a face
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. face — part of the head
  7. pass — a permit
  8. land — a country
  9. season — of the year
  10. ball — a great time
  11. season — in sport
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bound — obliged
  14. land — to come down
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. mug — to rob
  20. ball — a dance
  21. face — to confront
  22. mug — a cup
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — certain

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