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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: pop · bound · bore · content · cabinet · court · cap · vault

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pop — soda
  7. content — the amount
  8. court — of law
  9. bore — to tire
  10. pop — music
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cap — of ice
  14. court — of a king
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. pop — to visit
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bound — tied together
  20. vault — a safe
  21. court — for sport
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cap — a lid
  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