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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 120 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: ball · row · field · track · mine · net · bound · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mine — for digging
  6. field — a subject
  7. bass — low music
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. field — for sport
  11. track — a path
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. track — a song
  15. bound — certain
  16. field — farmland
  17. ball — a great time
  18. row — a line
  19. net — for catching
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. net — after costs
  23. track — to keep track
  24. net — in sport

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