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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: game · arm · field · swing · chest · cabinet · bound · net

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. net — in sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. game — a match
  5. net — for catching
  6. field — a subject
  7. chest — of your body
  8. game — wild animals
  9. swing — music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. field — for sport
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bound — obliged
  18. chest — a box
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. swing — to play on
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bound — tied together
  23. net — after costs
  24. bound — certain

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