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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: net · bat · jam · kid · nail · mark · bound · pop

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. net — in sport
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bound — tied together
  10. net — after costs
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mark — a grade
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bat — the animal
  15. net — for catching
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. bat — for baseball

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