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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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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: wake · field · straw · racket · mine · current · ball · swing

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. current — of water
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mine — for digging
  11. current — electric
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. current — happening now
  14. ball — a dance
  15. swing — to play on
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. swing — in golf
  21. field — a subject
  22. ball — a great time
  23. swing — music
  24. wake — a trail

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