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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: band · pitcher · tube · rule · spring · board · bass · bound

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. spring — the season
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. board — a committee
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. spring — of water
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bound — obliged
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. board — to get on
  21. bound — certain
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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