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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: field · swing · face · kick · wound · nail · spell · sharp

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — a subject
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. swing — to play on
  8. spell — a short time
  9. swing — music
  10. sharp — clever
  11. kick — in football
  12. field — for sport
  13. spell — letters
  14. face — part of the head
  15. spell — magic
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. wound — an injury
  18. face — to point toward
  19. field — farmland
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. face — to confront
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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