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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 · shower · sharp · date · mine · cap · swing · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bound — obliged
  5. shower — rain
  6. mine — for digging
  7. swing — in golf
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bound — tied together
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cap — of ice
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bound — certain
  20. swing — music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cap — a lid
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cap — a hat

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