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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: court · wax · pound · bound · band · bore · rash · spring

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. band — a ring
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. spring — of water
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. spring — the season
  11. bound — certain
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bound — obliged
  14. court — of a king
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pound — a weight
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bound — tied together
  21. band — a music group
  22. rash — a series
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. court — of law

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