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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: band · swing · stem · last · current · field · lean · bowl

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. field — farmland
  3. current — of water
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. last — finally
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a music group
  9. swing — in golf
  10. band — a ring
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. last — final
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. last — to go on
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. current — electric
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. lean — to bend
  19. swing — to play on
  20. field — for sport
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. current — happening now
  23. swing — music
  24. stem — to come from

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