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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: bass · stand · cold · kid · net · pop · pass · bound

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pass — a permit
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. net — for catching
  8. bound — certain
  9. stand — to bear
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. bass — low music
  14. net — after costs
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. net — in sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — to visit
  21. kid — child
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bound — obliged
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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