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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: shower · chair · content · clip · bass · bound · rock · straw

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bound — certain
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rock — a stone
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bound — obliged
  11. clip — to cut
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. bass — low music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. rock — music
  21. clip — a video
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. content — the amount
  24. bass — the fish

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