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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: game · field · fork · spring · lean · land · net · bound

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. game — a match
  3. net — after costs
  4. field — farmland
  5. spring — a coil
  6. lean — to bend
  7. field — for sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. bound — tied together
  10. field — a subject
  11. land — a country
  12. net — in sport
  13. game — wild animals
  14. lean — thin
  15. bound — certain
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. land — ground
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. land — to come down
  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