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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: board · bound · chair · swing · court · spring

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. swing — in golf
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bound — obliged
  5. spring — of water
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. bound — tied together
  10. swing — music
  11. court — of a king
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bound — certain
  14. court — of law
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. spring — the season
  18. court — for sport

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