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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spell — a short time
  5. field — for sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. field — a subject
  10. current — electric
  11. snap — to click
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. wound — an injury
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. field — farmland
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spell — letters
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. swing — in golf
  24. spell — magic

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