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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · clip · pass · roll · chest · rule · bound · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bass — the fish
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. clip — a video
  9. rule — a law
  10. roll — a list
  11. pass — a permit
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. clip — for paper
  14. drill — army training
  15. bass — low music
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. roll — a cake
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chest — a box
  20. bound — certain
  21. rule — government
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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