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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: face · march · spring · bound · file · scale · chest · bore

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bound — obliged
  5. spring — the season
  6. bore — to tire
  7. march — music
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. chest — a box
  11. march — the month
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. face — to confront
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. face — part of the head
  17. chest — of your body
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — to drill
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bound — tied together
  22. march — the month
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bore — gave birth

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