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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 · bound · lie · degree · patient · lean · wound · drill

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bound — certain
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bound — tied together
  8. lean — thin
  9. wound — an injury
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spring — the season
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. drill — the tool
  14. degree — from a university
  15. spring — of water
  16. degree — an amount
  17. drill — army training
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. degree — temperature
  20. drill — a practice
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. lie — to recline
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lie — an untruth

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