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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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468
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: swing · game · bore · face · field · file · roll · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. field — a subject
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. face — part of the head
  6. game — a match
  7. roll — a cake
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. face — to confront
  11. bore — to drill
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. field — farmland
  14. file — a line of people
  15. face — to point toward
  16. file — a document
  17. roll — a list
  18. file — a tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bore — to tire
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bore — gave birth

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