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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: march · leaves · stem · swing · wax · kick · field · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. swing — to play on
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. kick — in football
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. march — the month
  10. wax — to grow
  11. field — farmland
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. march — music
  14. rule — government
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. swing — music
  18. stem — to come from
  19. march — the month
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rule — a law

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