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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.

Words on the sheet
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 · mine · capital · bound · cell · rash · trunk · band

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. capital — a city
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cell — a phone
  9. mine — for digging
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. capital — money
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bound — certain
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. band — a ring
  17. bound — tied together
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. band — a music group
  23. bound — obliged
  24. mine — an explosive

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