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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: bore · cabinet · roll · cell · swing · clip · fork · field

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. roll — a cake
  5. field — for sport
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. swing — music
  9. bore — to tire
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. clip — a video
  12. field — farmland
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bore — to drill
  15. field — a subject
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fork — in a road
  19. clip — to cut
  20. swing — in golf
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cell — in biology
  23. roll — a list
  24. bore — gave birth

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