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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. chest — a box
  6. bound — obliged
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rest — a break
  12. pound — a weight
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bound — certain
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bat — for baseball

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