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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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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bound — certain
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chest — a box
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. clip — a video
  14. bound — obliged
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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