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

Word bank: swing · field · kick · stand · foot · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. kick — in football
  3. field — farmland
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. field — a subject
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. present — there
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. field — for sport
  11. foot — a measure
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. present — the time now
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stand — to bear
  18. foot — part of the body

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