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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 · cap · scale · wound · band · bore · perch · sharp

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. scale — size or range
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wound — an injury
  9. band — a ring
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. cap — a lid
  23. sharp — clever
  24. scale — in music

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