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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: swing · nail · field · firm · mug · rush · cold · pound

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pound — a weight
  3. firm — a company
  4. field — farmland
  5. mug — a face
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rush — hurry
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. swing — music
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. field — for sport
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cold — not warm
  16. firm — steady
  17. field — a subject
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mug — a cup
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. firm — decided
  24. swing — in golf

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