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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: bowl · wake · bore · bass · kid · bat · bound · charge

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. charge — a price
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bore — to tire
  13. kid — child
  14. bound — certain
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bass — the fish
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. charge — in control
  22. bat — the animal
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wake — a trail

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