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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: sharp · bound · tear · coach · spring · wound · bore · club

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. spring — of water
  4. bound — certain
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. club — a group
  13. spring — the season
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bound — obliged
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spring — a coil
  18. tear — to rip
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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