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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: jam · clip · bound · bulb · bass · wake

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. bass — low music
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bass — the fish
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wake — before a funeral

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