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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: rush · hand · can · game · plane · swing · field · stick

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. game — a match
  5. hand — in cards
  6. field — farmland
  7. game — wild animals
  8. plane — a tool
  9. swing — to play on
  10. can — a tin
  11. field — a subject
  12. swing — music
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. swing — in golf
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — help
  18. can — to be able to
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. field — for sport
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rush — to hurry

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