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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 116 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: club · fan · mouse · bound · capital · fall · spring · hide

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. spring — of water
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. capital — money
  8. club — for dancing
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. club — a group
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bound — tied together
  24. fan — a supporter

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