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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: swing · pitcher · cell · bear · field · land · scale · chest

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. field — for sport
  6. chest — a box
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — to come down
  9. field — a subject
  10. bear — the animal
  11. swing — in golf
  12. scale — in music
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chest — of your body
  18. land — ground
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. swing — to play on
  24. land — a country

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