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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. field — for sport
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fall — the season
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hand — help
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. club — for golf
  12. field — a subject
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hand — in cards
  17. club — a group
  18. field — farmland

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