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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · hide · chest · bound · bat · band · deal · pass

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wake — a trail
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bound — certain
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bound — obliged
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. bat — the animal
  16. band — a music group
  17. pass — a permit
  18. chest — a box
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. deal — to handle
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. deal — an agreement

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