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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: cue · bound · patient · chair · stock · spring · march · swing

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cue — for pool
  3. bound — certain
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — the season
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bound — obliged
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. march — music
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cue — a signal
  17. stock — shares
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. march — the month
  21. stock — goods
  22. bound — tied together
  23. spring — of water
  24. swing — in golf

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