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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: scale · field · swing · straw · suit · shower · clip · wound

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. shower — rain
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. suit — clothes
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — farmland
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — for sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. scale — size or range
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. suit — to fit
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — a subject
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. scale — in music

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