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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. field — for sport
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kick — in football
  8. game — wild animals
  9. club — for dancing
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bank — for money
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bank — for money
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. game — a match
  18. can — to be able to
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. cell — a phone
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bank — of a river

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