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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: bound · file · fall · game · cell · date · rock · arm

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. file — a document
  6. bound — tied together
  7. fall — the season
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rock — music
  10. date — the fruit
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cell — in biology
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. file — a tool
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rock — a stone
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. arm — part of the 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