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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. field — for sport
  3. row — a line
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. swing — music
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. swing — in golf
  17. row — to paddle
  18. swing — to play on
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wave — with your hand

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