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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · game · kid · face · bound · lash · chest · land

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. land — to come down
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. land — ground
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. game — a match
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. kid — to tease
  11. face — to point toward
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. chest — a box
  14. land — a country
  15. bound — certain
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. kid — child
  18. bound — tied together
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. fan — a supporter

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