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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: race · game · fork · spring · saw · bass · staff · bound

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bass — low music
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. race — humankind
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spring — of water
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. spring — the season
  12. saw — the tool
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bound — tied together
  16. game — a match
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bound — certain
  22. staff — employees
  23. bass — the fish
  24. staff — employees

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