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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: bowl · swing · chair · rule · straw · stick · field · roll

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. field — a subject
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. swing — music
  8. field — for sport
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. field — farmland
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. roll — a list
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. chair — a leader
  21. rule — government
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. roll — a cake
  24. straw — dry grass

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