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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bound — certain
  3. swing — to play on
  4. court — for sport
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — from a university
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fine — all right
  12. rule — a law
  13. swing — music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chest — a box
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. court — of law
  20. rule — government
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fine — high quality
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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