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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. board — a committee
  3. track — to keep track
  4. board — to get on
  5. track — a song
  6. game — a match
  7. field — for sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. club — for golf
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. club — a group
  12. field — farmland
  13. track — a path
  14. club — for dancing
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. game — wild animals
  18. shower — rain

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