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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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468
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 · board · file · bass · court · fine · cabinet · cell

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. board — to get on
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fine — all right
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. file — a document
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bass — the fish
  14. chest — a box
  15. board — a committee
  16. file — a tool
  17. court — for sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cell — a phone
  20. court — of a king
  21. fine — high quality
  22. court — of law
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. file — a line of people

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