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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. net — for catching
  5. bound — tied together
  6. degree — from a university
  7. net — in sport
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. net — after costs
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — a box
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. last — final
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. snap — to click
  20. wind — moving air
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bound — certain
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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