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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: bay · bound · rash · cell · stick · chair · vault · snap

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. snap — to click
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rash — a series
  19. vault — a safe
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bound — certain
  22. cell — a phone
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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