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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bound — obliged
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bound — certain
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spring — of water
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. foot — a measure
  12. spring — the season
  13. staff — employees
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. current — electric
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. current — happening now
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spring — a coil
  21. staff — employees
  22. bound — tied together
  23. current — of water
  24. snap — to click

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