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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: can · field · tear · lean · bound · face · spring · capital

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — of water
  3. field — a subject
  4. bound — tied together
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. spring — the season
  9. lean — to bend
  10. face — to confront
  11. capital — money
  12. tear — to rip
  13. spring — a coil
  14. capital — a city
  15. face — to point toward
  16. can — a tin
  17. bound — certain
  18. lean — thin
  19. face — part of the head
  20. tear — from crying
  21. field — farmland
  22. bound — obliged
  23. field — for sport
  24. lean — to rest against

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