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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: spring · drill · date · craft · chest · band · bound · pound

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. drill — a practice
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — certain
  9. spring — a coil
  10. drill — the tool
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. chest — of your body
  14. date — the fruit
  15. band — a music group
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. pound — a weight
  20. chest — a box
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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