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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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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bound — certain
  4. field — farmland
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. field — for sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. club — a group
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cold — not warm
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. field — a subject
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. foot — a measure
  21. cold — an illness
  22. club — for dancing
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitch — completely

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