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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: bound · hand · cell · bore · swing · ball · spring · face

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bound — obliged
  4. spring — of water
  5. bound — tied together
  6. face — to confront
  7. spring — the season
  8. hand — help
  9. ball — a dance
  10. swing — music
  11. bore — to drill
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. face — part of the head
  19. hand — in cards
  20. face — to point toward
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. spring — a coil
  24. hand — part of the body

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