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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: bound · net · bark · chest · roll · bass · jam · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bound — certain
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bark — to shout
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. net — after costs
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. net — in sport
  18. bound — obliged
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a list
  21. season — of the year
  22. chest — of your body
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. bound — tied together

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