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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: chest · track · bay · rule · band · rest · court · roll

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rule — government
  3. band — a ring
  4. track — a path
  5. roll — a list
  6. rest — a break
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. track — to keep track
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rule — a law
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. chest — of your body
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. track — a song
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. chest — a box
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. court — for sport

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