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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: bound · degree · snap · spell · mine · face · leaves · calf

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. spell — a short time
  5. snap — to click
  6. bound — obliged
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bound — certain
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spell — letters
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. degree — from a university
  17. face — part of the head
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mine — for digging
  20. face — to point toward
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bound — tied together
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. face — to confront

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