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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — obliged
  5. cell — in biology
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bound — certain
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. band — a ring
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. band — a music group
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. cabinet — ministers

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