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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: swing · coach · fan · land · present · field · lean · band

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lean — to bend
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. swing — music
  5. present — the time now
  6. land — ground
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. field — for sport
  9. swing — in golf
  10. land — a country
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. present — there
  13. band — a music group
  14. land — to come down
  15. lean — thin
  16. band — a ring
  17. present — a gift
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. field — farmland
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. field — a subject
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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