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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: cell · field · band · dip · chair · rash · swing · bound

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bound — certain
  4. field — a subject
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. swing — to play on
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bound — obliged
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cell — a phone
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rash — hasty
  18. swing — music
  19. band — a ring
  20. rash — a series
  21. dip — to sink
  22. field — farmland
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cell — in biology

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