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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 · fan · cell · field · bore · game · stand · can

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. can — to be able to
  6. bore — to drill
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. game — a match
  10. can — a tin
  11. swing — to play on
  12. field — a subject
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. swing — music
  17. can — a tin
  18. swing — in golf
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. game — wild animals

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