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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: arm · firm · swing · spring · pitcher · leaves · content · field

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. spring — of water
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. firm — a company
  12. swing — music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. swing — in golf
  16. field — for sport
  17. swing — to play on
  18. content — happy
  19. spring — the season
  20. content — the amount
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. firm — decided
  24. firm — steady

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