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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 120 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: squash · wind · bound · degree · ball · bass · bear · rest

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. squash — to crush
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bound — tied together
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bass — the fish
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bound — certain
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bear — the animal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bass — low music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bear — the animal
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rest — a break

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