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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: net · kid · leaves · chest · cell · band · roll · bound

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bound — tied together
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. kid — child
  5. cell — a phone
  6. roll — a cake
  7. chest — a box
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bound — obliged
  11. kid — to tease
  12. net — in sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. net — for catching
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. bound — certain
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. net — after costs
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. cell — in biology
  24. roll — a list

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