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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: bass · bank · rule · pop · field · cell · bay · hand

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bank — for money
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rule — a law
  7. pop — music
  8. field — farmland
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pop — soda
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. hand — help
  16. rule — government
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bank — for money

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