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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 · spell · cap · club · fan · chest · spring · content

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bound — certain
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. club — for golf
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. cap — of ice
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. club — a group
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — a lid
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — of water
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. chest — a box
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — obliged
  21. club — for dancing
  22. spring — the season
  23. cap — a hat
  24. spring — a coil

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