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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: stand · field · stock · bound · snap · bat · straw · swing

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. field — farmland
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. swing — music
  11. field — a subject
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. snap — to click
  14. stock — shares
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stock — goods
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. swing — to play on
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. field — for sport
  24. straw — dry grass

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