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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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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: bound · wave · chest · rule · file · capital · chair · ruler

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rule — a law
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. bound — certain
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chest — of your body
  12. capital — a city
  13. rule — government
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chest — a box
  16. capital — money
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. file — a document
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. file — a tool

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