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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 116 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: swing · deal · nail · calf · wound · field · hand · fall

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. wound — an injury
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. swing — in golf
  9. hand — in cards
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fall — to drop
  14. swing — music
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. swing — to play on
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. hand — help
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. fall — the season
  22. field — farmland
  23. wound — an injury
  24. deal — to handle

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