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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: mine · snap · court · chest · bat · key · lash · bound

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bound — tied together
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. key — the most important part
  12. court — of a king
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — of law
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — for sport
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. key — in music
  23. bound — certain
  24. bat — the animal

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