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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: spring · toast · game · pop · bound · swing · cap · can

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. swing — in golf
  3. can — a tin
  4. spring — the season
  5. toast — bread
  6. bound — tied together
  7. swing — to play on
  8. can — to be able to
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — music
  12. bound — obliged
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pop — soda
  17. game — a match
  18. bound — certain
  19. swing — music
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — a coil
  22. game — wild animals
  23. can — a tin
  24. game — a kind of play

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