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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 · field · plane · rush · lean · bat · board · mine

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. board — a committee
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. field — farmland
  7. lean — thin
  8. swing — music
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bat — the animal
  12. field — a subject
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. swing — in golf
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. board — to get on
  24. field — for sport

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