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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: bound · snap · staff · lie · mine · scale · pitcher · cell

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lie — to recline
  9. staff — employees
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. mine — for digging
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — certain
  16. cell — in biology
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. staff — employees
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. staff — a stick
  24. snap — to click

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