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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 116 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: hide · straw · rule · bass · cell · cap · game · band

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rule — a law
  4. cap — a hat
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cap — of ice
  10. band — a music group
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cell — in biology
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cap — a lid
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. band — a ring
  19. bass — low music
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rule — government
  22. game — a match
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bass — the fish

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