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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: wax · mine · bulb · net · field · rest · bound · chest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bound — certain
  3. bulb — for light
  4. net — for catching
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bulb — for light
  9. field — a subject
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. net — in sport
  16. rest — a break
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — for sport
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — farmland
  21. bound — obliged
  22. net — after costs
  23. chest — a box
  24. bulb — of a plant

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