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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: field · vault · game · foot · wind · land · straw · swing

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — to come down
  3. field — farmland
  4. game — wild animals
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. land — ground
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. foot — a measure
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. swing — to play on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — a safe
  17. game — a match
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. land — a country
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. foot — the bottom

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