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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 · root · race · straw · chair · field · bowl · mine

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. root — of a word
  3. race — humankind
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. race — a contest
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. root — the cause
  10. mine — for digging
  11. field — farmland
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. chair — to sit on

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