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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: swing · last · chair · patient · pop · season · cell · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. swing — music
  3. pop — music
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. last — finally
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. swing — to play on
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. swing — in golf
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cell — in biology
  14. season — in sport
  15. pop — soda
  16. last — to go on
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chair — a leader
  20. last — final
  21. cell — a phone
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pop — to visit
  24. chair — a professorship

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