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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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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. swing — music
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. field — for sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. hand — help
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. pass — a permit
  12. swing — to play on
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. swing — in golf
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a ring
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. band — a music group

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