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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: bat · bound · coach · mark · lean · ruler · last · jam

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bound — tied together
  6. lean — thin
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. mark — a trace
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. last — final
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mark — a grade
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. last — finally
  24. ruler — for measuring

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