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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: swing · content · last · squash · fine · field · arm · current

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. field — for sport
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. current — of water
  6. fine — high quality
  7. swing — to play on
  8. last — final
  9. current — electric
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. swing — music
  12. content — happy
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fine — all right
  15. last — finally
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. swing — in golf
  22. content — the amount
  23. current — happening now
  24. field — a subject

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