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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: plane · drill · cap · swing · present · pitcher · field · bound

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — a gift
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. present — there
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. field — a subject
  15. drill — army training
  16. cap — a hat
  17. field — farmland
  18. swing — music
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — for sport
  24. bound — obliged

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