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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: chest · bear · swing · wind · march · field · board · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. swing — in golf
  4. field — farmland
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. swing — music
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. board — a committee
  10. field — for sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. board — to get on
  13. swing — to play on
  14. march — music
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. march — the month
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. march — the month
  22. field — a subject
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mouse — the animal

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