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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 120 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: field · ball · pass · swing · tear · cell · lie · stick

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. swing — to play on
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cell — a phone
  7. lie — to recline
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. swing — music
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ball — a dance
  13. field — for sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pass — a permit
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — in biology
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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