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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bound — obliged
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. file — a document
  9. cold — an illness
  10. file — a tool
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. key — the most important part
  15. snap — to click
  16. bound — certain
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. key — in music
  21. chest — a box
  22. plane — a tool
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. hide — to keep secret

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