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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 120 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: key · lie · field · mate · bound · lean · coach · file

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. key — the most important part
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. field — a subject
  10. mate — a friend
  11. lean — thin
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lean — to bend
  14. key — in music
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. field — for sport
  19. file — a document
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a tool
  22. key — for a lock
  23. bound — tied together
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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