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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: mine · spring · chair · cabinet · bowl · bound · scale · bat

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mine — for digging
  6. scale — size or range
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. spring — of water
  20. bound — tied together
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bound — obliged
  23. scale — in music
  24. bound — certain

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