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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 · content · mine · game · face · fine · net · fall

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fall — to drop
  3. face — to confront
  4. content — the amount
  5. face — part of the head
  6. content — happy
  7. net — in sport
  8. face — to point toward
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. game — a match
  17. net — after costs
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — high quality
  20. game — wild animals
  21. net — for catching
  22. fall — the season
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fall — to drop

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