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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 · squash · tear · bass · hand · chest · plane · bound

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bound — obliged
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hand — help
  7. bound — certain
  8. hand — in cards
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chest — a box
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bass — low music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. net — in sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. squash — the sport
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. plane — a tool
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. squash — to crush

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