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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 · saw · bound · snap · court · cabinet · chest · club

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. snap — to click
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bound — certain
  9. chest — of your body
  10. club — for golf
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chest — a box
  13. bound — obliged
  14. chest — of your body
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. club — a group
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. court — of a king
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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