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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: bank · spell · straw · field · rest · chair · swing · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. spell — magic
  3. field — a subject
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spell — a short time
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. swing — music
  9. bank — for money
  10. swing — to play on
  11. field — farmland
  12. bank — for money
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — a break
  16. bank — of a river
  17. spell — letters
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. swing — in golf
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rest — what's left

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