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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: lie · swing · lean · chair · field · pit · clip · firm

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lie — to recline
  4. firm — decided
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. firm — steady
  7. pit — in a race
  8. field — a subject
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. swing — in golf
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. clip — a video
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. swing — music
  17. pit — a hole
  18. swing — to play on
  19. field — for sport
  20. chair — a leader
  21. firm — a company
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to bend
  24. clip — to cut

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