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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 · roll · swing · game · key · content · dip · rush

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. field — a subject
  3. content — the amount
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. key — the most important part
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. field — farmland
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. rush — hurry
  12. field — for sport
  13. roll — a list
  14. swing — in golf
  15. roll — a cake
  16. dip — to sink
  17. swing — music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. game — a match
  21. key — in music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. content — videos and posts

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