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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: present · bound · wound · nail · snap · roll · bass · field

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. roll — a list
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. field — for sport
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. wound — an injury
  9. present — a gift
  10. bass — low music
  11. field — farmland
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. field — a subject
  17. roll — a cake
  18. present — there
  19. snap — to click
  20. bound — certain
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. present — the time now

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