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

Word bank: sharp · land · rush · bound · tear · spring · face · deal

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. sharp — clever
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bound — tied together
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. tear — from crying
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. spring — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — to come down
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. face — part of the head
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. spring — of water
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. deal — to handle
  21. spring — a coil
  22. face — to confront
  23. tear — to rip
  24. sharp — exactly

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