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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 · clip · fine · spring · rush · swing · pit · racket

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. clip — a video
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fine — high quality
  7. rush — hurry
  8. spring — the season
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. clip — to cut
  13. field — for sport
  14. swing — music
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. field — a subject
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fine — all right
  19. pit — a hole
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pit — in a race
  23. swing — to play on
  24. spring — of water

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