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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: cabinet · trunk · chest · bound · cell · band · file · land

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. cell — a phone
  3. band — a ring
  4. file — a document
  5. chest — a box
  6. file — a tool
  7. bound — obliged
  8. land — ground
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bound — tied together
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. bound — certain
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cell — in biology
  23. chest — of your body
  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