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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 · stock · bound · cap · craft · pop · court · bay

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. stock — shares
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bound — certain
  5. pop — soda
  6. court — of law
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. court — for sport
  9. spring — the season
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cap — a hat
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pop — music
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bound — obliged
  20. craft — boats
  21. pop — to visit
  22. stock — goods
  23. court — of a king
  24. cap — a lid

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