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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: fan · pound · club · mine · bound · bat · court · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mine — for digging
  11. spring — the season
  12. court — for sport
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bound — certain
  17. court — of law
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. court — of a king
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pound — a weight

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