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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 · fine · field · wake · swing · tear

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. fine — all right
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fine — high quality
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. swing — music
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wake — a trail
  15. field — farmland
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip

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