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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: rock · leaves · field · sharp · swing · band · spring · toast

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. band — a ring
  4. field — farmland
  5. toast — bread
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. field — for sport
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. spring — the season
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. swing — music
  15. band — a music group
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. field — a subject
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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