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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: net · fall · current · mark · field · hand · swing · scale

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mark — a grade
  3. field — a subject
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. current — of water
  6. net — after costs
  7. hand — in cards
  8. current — electric
  9. net — for catching
  10. hand — help
  11. fall — the season
  12. scale — size or range
  13. swing — in golf
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. current — happening now
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. mark — a trace
  18. fall — to drop
  19. scale — in music
  20. field — farmland
  21. swing — to play on
  22. fall — to drop
  23. net — in sport
  24. swing — music

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