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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. spring — the season
  3. face — to confront
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. face — part of the head
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. face — to point toward
  8. club — for golf
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mine — for digging
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. bore — to drill
  14. row — a line
  15. bound — tied together
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. club — a group
  19. bound — obliged
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bound — certain
  22. row — to paddle
  23. date — the fruit
  24. mine — an explosive

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