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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: kid · bound · chair · current · bass · branch · face · hide

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bound — certain
  6. face — to point toward
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. current — of water
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bound — obliged
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. face — to confront
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kid — child
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. current — electric
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bound — tied together
  23. current — happening now
  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