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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. field — farmland
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cold — not warm
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — for sport
  7. craft — a skill
  8. court — of law
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. club — for dancing
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. club — for golf
  16. craft — boats
  17. cold — an illness
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. fine — all right
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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