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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: spring · bass · bound · kid · leaves · face · nail · pop

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bass — the fish
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bound — certain
  7. spring — a coil
  8. face — to confront
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pop — music
  11. spring — the season
  12. bound — tied together
  13. kid — child
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pop — soda
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. spring — of water
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. leaves — lets stay

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