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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bound — obliged
  4. band — a music group
  5. key — in music
  6. bore — to drill
  7. spell — letters
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bound — certain
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. court — of law
  15. bound — tied together
  16. key — for a lock
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bore — to tire
  20. court — of a king
  21. band — a ring
  22. sharp — clever
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. court — for sport

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