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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 116 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 · staff · wax · coach · snap · bat · swing · content

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. swing — music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. staff — employees
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bound — tied together
  11. swing — to play on
  12. snap — to click
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bound — certain
  19. wax — to grow
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. content — happy
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. content — the amount

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