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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 116 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: rock · wake · bound · field · present · lean · rash · net

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. present — a gift
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. present — the time now
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. present — there
  10. bound — tied together
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. net — for catching
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. field — a subject
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. net — after costs
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. net — in sport
  24. lean — thin

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