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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. net — for catching
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bound — certain
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. net — in sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. chest — a box
  19. net — after costs
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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