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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: land · bound · row · ball · foot · face · rule · pitch

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bound — obliged
  3. rule — a law
  4. ball — a dance
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. bound — certain
  7. ball — a great time
  8. rule — government
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pitch — completely
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. row — to paddle
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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