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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 · ruler · field · wake · band · lean · tube · bound

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. lean — to bend
  4. court — for sport
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — certain
  7. band — a ring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. tube — a container
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. lean — thin
  12. field — farmland
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. bound — obliged
  15. court — of a king
  16. band — a music group
  17. tube — the underground
  18. field — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. field — a subject
  22. wake — a trail
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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