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

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. land — to come down
  6. bound — tied together
  7. land — a country
  8. chest — a box
  9. cell — in biology
  10. land — ground
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. cell — a phone
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. chest — of your body

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