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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 120 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 · chair · arm · nail · land · snap · rush · last

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. land — a country
  5. last — final
  6. snap — to click
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rush — hurry
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bound — tied together
  18. last — to go on
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bound — certain
  22. last — finally
  23. bound — obliged
  24. arm — part of the body

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