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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: board · chest · cabinet · face · bat · bass · bound · shower

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bass — low music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bound — certain
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — a committee
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bat — the animal
  14. board — to get on
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. face — to point toward
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. face — to confront
  21. shower — rain
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cabinet — ministers

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