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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: band · trunk · cue · lean · firm · kid · swing · field

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. kid — child
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cue — a signal
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. cue — a hint
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. field — for sport
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — decided
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cue — for pool
  17. firm — a company
  18. field — a subject
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. lean — to bend
  21. field — farmland
  22. kid — to tease
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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