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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: chest · file · shower · bass · chair · sharp · bound · lie

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. chest — a box
  4. bass — low music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. file — a document
  9. sharp — clever
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bound — tied together
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bound — certain
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bass — the fish
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. file — a line of people
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. file — a tool
  22. bound — obliged
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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