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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 · spring · court · capital · squash · shower · bore · key

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. key — in music
  3. bound — tied together
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bore — to drill
  6. capital — a city
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bound — certain
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. shower — rain
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. spring — the season
  16. court — of a king
  17. spring — of water
  18. capital — money
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spring — a coil
  21. shower — to wash
  22. key — for a lock
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bound — obliged

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