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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: current · game · stick · field · vault · swing · face · row

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. current — happening now
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. swing — music
  6. current — of water
  7. field — farmland
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. swing — to play on
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. current — electric
  13. row — a line
  14. face — to point toward
  15. swing — in golf
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. row — to paddle
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. field — for sport
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. row — a quarrel

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