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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: capital · board · pass · date · spring · bound · court · last

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. capital — money
  6. spring — a coil
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spring — of water
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. court — of a king
  16. board — to get on
  17. spring — the season
  18. bound — tied together
  19. capital — a city
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — to go on
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. court — of law
  24. board — a committee

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