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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. spell — letters
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bound — certain
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. branch — a division
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pass — a permit
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. branch — of a tree

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