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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bound — obliged
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bound — certain
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry

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