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

Word bank: last · object · fall · bound · jam · mine · hand · cell

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cell — in biology
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. fall — the season
  6. hand — help
  7. object — a thing
  8. bound — tied together
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. object — an aim
  11. bound — certain
  12. last — finally
  13. hand — in cards
  14. object — to protest
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. last — final
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mine — for digging
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. last — to go on

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