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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bound — tied together
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bound — certain
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. spring — a coil
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. spring — the season
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — a measure
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spring — of water
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. chair — a leader
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. game — a match
  23. bound — obliged
  24. game — wild animals

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