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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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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: field · swing · stem · ground · squash · mug · game · stand

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ground — a position
  3. stem — to come from
  4. game — a match
  5. field — farmland
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. mug — to rob
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. ground — crushed
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mug — a cup
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — to bear
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. swing — in golf
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. swing — to play on
  21. field — for sport
  22. mug — a face
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. swing — music

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