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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: stand · mate · game · bound · shower · chest · bass · content

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bound — certain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. shower — rain
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. bound — tied together
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bass — the fish
  21. shower — to wash
  22. game — a match
  23. mate — a partner
  24. game — wild animals

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