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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: chest · rock · sharp · bore · chair · spring · club · bound

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. sharp — clever
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rock — a stone
  5. bound — tied together
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rock — music
  8. club — a group
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. chest — a box
  13. bore — to tire
  14. club — for golf
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spring — the season
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bound — certain
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chest — of your body
  24. sharp — with an edge

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