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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 116 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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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. file — a document
  3. cell — in biology
  4. track — a path
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bound — tied together
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wound — an injury
  13. track — a song
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cue — a hint
  17. snap — to click
  18. bound — certain
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — a phone
  24. file — a tool

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