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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: bass · wind · chip · temple · bound · hide · cell · band

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. band — a ring
  3. bass — low music
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bound — certain
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chip — for betting
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. band — a music group
  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