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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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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: cell · field · clip · tear · lean · rule · calf · swing

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. lean — to bend
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. tear — to rip
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cell — a phone
  13. field — farmland
  14. rule — a law
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rule — government
  20. field — a subject
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. lean — thin
  24. swing — to play on

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