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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: mark · swing · bulb · coach · field · wind · chest · mine

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mine — for digging
  4. field — a subject
  5. chest — a box
  6. mark — a grade
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. chest — of your body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bulb — for light
  12. field — farmland
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. field — for sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mine — an explosive

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