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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: bowl · kid · bound · patient · swing · field · straw · hide

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. swing — to play on
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bound — certain
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. kid — child
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — obliged
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. swing — music
  20. field — a subject
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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