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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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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 · field · lean · racket · band · cold · stand · rule

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rule — a law
  6. swing — to play on
  7. band — a ring
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — for sport
  10. rule — government
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. band — a music group
  13. field — a subject
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. stand — to bear
  17. field — farmland
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. lean — thin
  24. stand — on your feet

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