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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. shower — to wash
  5. hand — help
  6. shower — rain
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. key — in music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. snap — to click
  13. present — there
  14. bound — obliged
  15. prune — to trim
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. hand — in cards
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bound — certain
  22. present — a gift
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. present — the time now

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