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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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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: bound · club · pit · bass · wound · tear · bowl · cell

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cell — in biology
  3. club — a group
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pit — a hole
  12. club — for golf
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — the fish
  16. pit — in a race
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bound — certain
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bass — low music
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. club — for dancing

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