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

Word bank: nail · snap · cold · bat · pit · mark · pound · bound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bound — certain
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mark — a grade
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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