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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: field · bound · cell · face · coach · present · bulb · branch

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. field — for sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cell — in biology
  6. present — a gift
  7. bound — obliged
  8. field — a subject
  9. bound — certain
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. branch — a division
  13. present — the time now
  14. field — farmland
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. face — to confront
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. present — there
  22. bound — tied together
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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