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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bass · wind · temple · tube · field · wound · bound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bound — obliged
  7. field — a subject
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bass — low music
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wound — an injury
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — for sport
  20. bound — certain
  21. tube — the underground
  22. field — farmland
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wind — moving air

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