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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.

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 · bound · cold · kick · saw · pit · bat · ball

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cold — an illness
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bass — low music
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. pit — in a race
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. ball — a dance
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bound — tied together
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bound — certain
  24. saw — the tool

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