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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 · last · field · bound · pop · arm · swing · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. swing — to play on
  3. last — final
  4. field — for sport
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bound — certain
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. field — a subject
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. field — farmland
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. swing — music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — soda
  18. swing — in golf
  19. staff — employees
  20. last — to go on
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. pop — music
  23. bound — obliged
  24. last — finally

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