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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 · rule · hand · firm · spring · face · bound · bulb

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. rule — a law
  3. field — farmland
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — of water
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. face — part of the head
  13. hand — in cards
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bulb — for light
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spring — a coil
  18. firm — decided
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. rule — government
  23. hand — help
  24. firm — a company

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