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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stock — shares
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. snap — to click
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. rock — music
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bat — the animal
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stock — goods
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rock — a stone

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