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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: face · net · field · wound · bound · bear · trunk · ruler

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bound — obliged
  3. field — for sport
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. face — to point toward
  7. field — a subject
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — farmland
  10. net — for catching
  11. bound — tied together
  12. net — in sport
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. face — to confront
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bear — the animal
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bound — certain
  20. wound — an injury
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. net — after costs
  24. face — part of the head

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