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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: chest · coach · cell · band · key · rest · bound · rule

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — certain
  5. band — a music group
  6. chest — a box
  7. rest — a break
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bound — obliged
  10. key — for a lock
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rule — government
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rule — a law
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chest — of your body
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. key — in music

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