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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 120 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 · wound · ruler · fall · net · branch · rule · chest

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. rule — government
  3. net — in sport
  4. chest — a box
  5. bass — low music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. net — after costs
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rule — a law
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bass — the fish
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fall — the season
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. branch — a division
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. net — for catching

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