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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. chest — of your body
  3. scale — size or range
  4. row — a line
  5. bound — obliged
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cue — a signal
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. scale — in music
  13. bound — certain
  14. chest — of your body
  15. drill — army training
  16. cue — for pool
  17. rule — a law
  18. cue — a hint
  19. row — to paddle
  20. chest — a box
  21. hand — in cards
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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