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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: chair · net · cell · content · bass · rule

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rule — a law
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cell — a phone
  6. net — in sport
  7. rule — government
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. bass — low music
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chair — a leader
  17. content — happy
  18. cell — in a prison

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