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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.

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: straw · snap · board · season · plane · drill · field · swing

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. field — a subject
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. board — a committee
  7. field — for sport
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. season — of the year
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. board — to get on
  15. snap — to click
  16. swing — to play on
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. plane — a tool
  24. board — a flat piece

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