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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: wave · ball · bass · clip · bound · mate · game · mine

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. mate — a partner
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. mine — for digging
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bass — low music
  9. ball — a dance
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. game — a match
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bound — certain
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — obliged
  23. clip — a video
  24. game — a kind of play

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