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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. land — ground
  3. spring — of water
  4. lean — to bend
  5. spring — the season
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. wind — moving air
  9. root — the cause
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. spring — a coil
  13. land — a country
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. field — a subject
  16. land — to come down
  17. root — of a word
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. field — farmland
  24. bound — obliged

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