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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 120 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. field — for sport
  4. cap — a hat
  5. club — for golf
  6. field — farmland
  7. cap — a lid
  8. deal — to handle
  9. field — a subject
  10. season — in sport
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cold — an illness
  16. season — of the year
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cold — not warm
  20. craft — boats
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. coach — a trainer

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