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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 · chest · spring · present · cap · row · hand · ball

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. spring — the season
  2. present — there
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cap — of ice
  5. ball — a great time
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chest — of your body
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bound — certain
  10. ball — a dance
  11. present — the time now
  12. bound — obliged
  13. row — a line
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. present — a gift
  16. cap — a lid
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bound — tied together
  19. chest — a box
  20. spring — of water
  21. hand — help
  22. chest — of your body
  23. hand — part of the body
  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