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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bound — obliged
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — certain
  9. game — a match
  10. bass — low music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rule — government
  13. bass — the fish
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. game — wild animals
  17. file — a tool
  18. rule — a law

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