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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: bound · club · bass · mine · ground · snap · wind · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bound — tied together
  4. club — for golf
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ground — a position
  7. bound — certain
  8. snap — to click
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. club — for dancing
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — obliged
  20. ground — the earth
  21. mine — for digging
  22. club — a group
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bass — the fish

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