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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 120 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: pass · wound · band · press · cell · bat · swing · field

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pass — a permit
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cell — a phone
  7. press — a publisher
  8. band — a ring
  9. cell — in biology
  10. press — to push
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. press — newspapers
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. field — for sport
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. swing — music
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. band — a music group
  24. wound — an injury

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