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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · patient · ball · net · branch · wound · bound · mine

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. net — after costs
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — in sport
  12. ball — a dance
  13. branch — a division
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bound — tied together
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bound — obliged
  18. net — for catching
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bound — certain
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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