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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: patient · lie · face · bat · spell · bound · pop · tube

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. pop — music
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pop — soda
  5. face — to point toward
  6. spell — letters
  7. bound — tied together
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pop — to visit
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. spell — magic
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bound — certain
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. face — to confront
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. tube — in a tire

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