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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: hand · roll · object · bound · pit · face · drill · cell

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. roll — a cake
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pit — in a race
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bound — tied together
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — a thing
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bound — certain
  12. face — to confront
  13. object — an aim
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pit — a hole
  17. drill — army training
  18. cell — a phone
  19. drill — the tool
  20. roll — a list
  21. hand — help
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. face — part of the head

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