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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: deal · net · bulb · bass · mine · mate · bound · pitcher

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bass — the fish
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bulb — for light
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bulb — for light
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bass — low music
  17. bound — tied together
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bound — certain
  20. net — after costs
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bound — obliged
  24. deal — an agreement

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