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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: bass · bulb · bound · hand · season · ball · stock · chest

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bulb — for light
  3. stock — goods
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bass — low music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. season — of the year
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bass — the fish
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bound — tied together
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. chest — a box
  23. hand — help
  24. bound — obliged

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