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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: bass · hand · bound · bowl · bark · chip · mate · race

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bass — the fish
  3. chip — to eat
  4. race — a contest
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — help
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chip — for betting
  12. mate — a partner
  13. bound — tied together
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bound — certain
  16. bass — low music
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bark — to shout
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bound — obliged
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. race — humankind

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