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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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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: ground · field · cell · swing · mark · content · wind · kick

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — in golf
  3. kick — in football
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. content — happy
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. ground — crushed
  14. mark — a trace
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. content — the amount
  21. ground — a position
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. ground — the earth
  24. kick — a thrill

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