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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bound · mate · snap · field · face · lie · chip · wave

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. face — to confront
  3. mate — a partner
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. field — farmland
  9. chip — for betting
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. snap — to click
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bound — certain
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bound — tied together
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mate — to breed
  24. lie — to recline

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