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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: roll · bound · field · bass · cold · bulb · wax · game

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bound — certain
  3. bass — the fish
  4. cold — not warm
  5. field — a subject
  6. bound — obliged
  7. game — wild animals
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. field — for sport
  10. game — a match
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. roll — a cake
  13. field — farmland
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bulb — for light
  20. roll — a list
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bass — low music
  23. bound — tied together
  24. game — a kind of play

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