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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: rush · hand · bound · spring · lean · face · field · wax

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bound — obliged
  3. field — farmland
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bound — tied together
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bound — certain
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — part of the head
  16. spring — the season
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wax — to grow
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spring — a coil
  22. lean — thin
  23. spring — of water
  24. rush — hurry

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