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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: cold · kick · staff · field · bound · content · snap · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bound — tied together
  3. field — a subject
  4. bound — certain
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. field — farmland
  10. bass — the fish
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. staff — a stick
  13. field — for sport
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bound — obliged
  18. content — the amount
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. cold — an illness
  22. snap — to click
  23. cold — not warm
  24. content — happy

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