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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: bulb · swing · field · row · stock · roll · snap · cell

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. swing — music
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. row — a line
  9. snap — to click
  10. field — a subject
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. roll — a list
  15. field — for sport
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — in biology
  18. swing — in golf
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cell — a phone
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bulb — for light
  24. field — farmland

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