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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · swing · plane · cabinet · squash · field · rash · scale

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. hand — in cards
  3. field — farmland
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. scale — in music
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. plane — a tool
  9. squash — to crush
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. scale — size or range
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. rash — hasty
  19. hand — help
  20. rash — a series
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. squash — the sport
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. scale — for weighing

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