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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 120 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rule — government
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. band — a ring
  9. chest — a box
  10. cell — in biology
  11. spell — letters
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bound — obliged
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rule — a law
  17. spell — magic
  18. bound — certain
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chest — of your body
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. bass — the fish
  24. hide — to keep secret

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