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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: chest · bulb · bound · cue · bark · rule · row · jam

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. rule — government
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rule — a law
  10. chest — of your body
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bark — to shout
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. bound — certain
  21. chest — a box
  22. bound — obliged
  23. cue — for pool
  24. rule — to rule out

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