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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 120 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: club · swing · cap · field · file · present · lie · net

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a tool
  4. net — after costs
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — farmland
  7. net — for catching
  8. cap — a lid
  9. swing — in golf
  10. present — a gift
  11. club — a group
  12. swing — to play on
  13. field — for sport
  14. present — the time now
  15. club — for dancing
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. swing — music
  19. cap — a hat
  20. net — in sport
  21. club — for golf
  22. file — a document
  23. cap — of ice
  24. field — a subject

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