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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: mine · lie · fan · field · mate · swing · branch · club

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. swing — music
  8. field — farmland
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. lie — to recline
  11. club — for golf
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mine — for digging
  16. field — a subject
  17. branch — a division
  18. mate — a partner
  19. field — for sport
  20. club — a group
  21. mate — a friend
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mine — an explosive

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