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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: chest · band · mark · trunk · cap · firm · snap · bound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cap — a lid
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. firm — decided
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mark — a trace
  10. firm — a company
  11. cap — of ice
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. band — a ring
  17. bound — tied together
  18. firm — steady
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mark — a grade
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. band — a music group

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