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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: spring · chair · leaves · club · bound · field · land · bear

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spring — the season
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. bear — the animal
  9. club — for dancing
  10. land — ground
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. field — farmland
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. field — for sport
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bound — tied together
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. land — to come down
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bear — the animal
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. field — a subject

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