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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: object · rush · capital · bound · hand · snap · mark · cold

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. object — an aim
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bound — obliged
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mark — a grade
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. object — to protest
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bound — certain
  16. capital — a city
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. capital — money
  19. snap — to click
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. cold — an illness
  23. object — a thing
  24. mark — a trace

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