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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: bat · chest · pop · deal · bound · squash · chair · current

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. squash — the sport
  5. current — happening now
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chair — a leader
  8. current — of water
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pop — music
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. current — electric
  16. squash — to crush
  17. pop — soda
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chest — of your body
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. chest — a box
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bound — certain

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