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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. chest — a box
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. land — ground
  12. snap — to click
  13. lean — thin
  14. bound — certain
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — a country
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. chest — of your body
  24. land — to come down

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