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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: pop · current · cell · net · ground · bound · court · bass

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bass — low music
  3. net — after costs
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. current — electric
  7. ground — crushed
  8. net — in sport
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. current — of water
  11. cell — in biology
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bound — certain
  14. court — of a king
  15. ground — a position
  16. net — for catching
  17. pop — soda
  18. bass — the fish
  19. current — happening now
  20. court — of law
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pop — music

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