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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: bound · snap · patient · game · bat · fine · straw · chest

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chest — a box
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. chest — of your body
  7. game — a match
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chest — of your body
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fine — all right
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bound — tied together
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bound — certain
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bat — the animal
  24. straw — a straw man

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