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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
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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: wind · ground · tube · kick · bass · race · sharp · bound

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bound — certain
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bound — obliged
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — in football
  8. tube — the underground
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ground — crushed
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. race — humankind
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. tube — a container
  17. wind — moving air
  18. sharp — clever
  19. race — a contest
  20. bass — low music
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ground — the earth

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