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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 120 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: capital · content · season · cabinet · swing · bound · snap · bore

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. season — of the year
  3. content — happy
  4. bore — to tire
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bound — certain
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. capital — money
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bound — tied together
  17. snap — to click
  18. content — the amount
  19. season — in sport
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. swing — to play on
  22. capital — a city
  23. swing — music
  24. bound — obliged

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