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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 120 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: court · pitcher · cue · bound · patient · bowl · spring · capital

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bound — certain
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. spring — the season
  8. capital — money
  9. spring — a coil
  10. court — of law
  11. cue — a signal
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — for sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cue — a hint
  22. court — of a king
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bowl — to roll

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