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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: mark · last · wound · club · vault · spring · bound · cap

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. last — final
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. last — to go on
  7. vault — a safe
  8. spring — the season
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — a trace
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — finally
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bound — tied together
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bound — certain
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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