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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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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: bound · snap · march · fork · cell · mine · pit · club

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bound — tied together
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fork — in a road
  13. march — music
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. march — the month
  16. bound — certain
  17. club — for dancing
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. snap — to click
  22. pit — a hole
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. club — for golf

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