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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 116 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: kid · straw · branch · bound · game · cap · drill · bass

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bound — obliged
  5. kid — child
  6. bass — the fish
  7. drill — the tool
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. game — wild animals
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. drill — a practice
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — certain
  17. bass — low music
  18. cap — a lid
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cap — of ice
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. drill — army training

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