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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: bound · cold · chip · craft · spring · court · bore · press

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. press — to push
  4. court — of a king
  5. bore — to drill
  6. press — a publisher
  7. cold — not warm
  8. spring — the season
  9. bore — to tire
  10. court — for sport
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — of law
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chip — for betting
  17. craft — a skill
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bound — certain
  20. craft — boats
  21. bound — obliged
  22. spring — of water
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. press — newspapers

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