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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: stand · swing · fork · bear · land · wind · field · cell

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. field — a subject
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. swing — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. field — for sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — farmland
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cell — in biology
  18. swing — to play on
  19. fork — in a road
  20. wind — moving air
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bear — the animal

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