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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: wind · lean · ground · field · rule · swing

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — a position
  5. field — a subject
  6. lean — to bend
  7. ground — crushed
  8. swing — music
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. wind — moving air
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rule — a law
  13. field — farmland
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lean — thin
  16. field — for sport
  17. rule — government
  18. swing — in golf

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