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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: content · pop · bark · bass · mug · bound · kid · bulb

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bass — low music
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mug — a face
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bound — certain
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pop — music
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bark — to shout
  16. content — the amount
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pop — soda

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