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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: court · field · swing · present · lie · fork · wound · perch

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. swing — music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. court — of law
  6. field — a subject
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. field — farmland
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. field — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. fork — in a road
  18. court — for sport
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. present — the time now
  21. swing — to play on
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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