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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to click
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mark — a trace
  6. chest — a box
  7. key — the most important part
  8. mark — a grade
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. chest — of your body
  14. staff — employees
  15. spell — letters
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. key — for a lock
  18. spell — magic
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bound — certain
  21. tear — from crying
  22. key — in music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tear — from crying

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