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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: straw · lash · swing · roll · key · rest · field · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. key — in music
  3. field — a subject
  4. key — the most important part
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. field — for sport
  8. swing — to play on
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. rest — a break
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. roll — a list
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rest — what's left
  17. roll — a cake
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. swing — music
  21. field — farmland
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. key — for a lock

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