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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. field — a subject
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. plane — a tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. swing — in golf
  8. chest — of your body
  9. club — for golf
  10. face — to confront
  11. swing — music
  12. club — a group
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spring — a coil
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spring — the season
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. club — for dancing
  20. chest — a box
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. spring — of water
  24. field — farmland

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