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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: stick · chest · field · craft · bulb · bore · mine · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. craft — boats
  4. mine — for digging
  5. field — a subject
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. chest — a box
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bore — to drill
  17. field — for sport
  18. swing — in golf
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. field — farmland
  21. chest — of your body
  22. swing — music
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chest — of your body

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