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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: club · tear · field · swing · cabinet · lie

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. swing — music
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. club — for golf
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. tear — to rip
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. field — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — a group
  15. field — a subject
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. field — farmland
  18. tear — from crying

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