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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chest — a box
  3. bound — tied together
  4. stock — goods
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — obliged
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. chest — of your body
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. spring — of water
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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