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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for golf
  3. cap — of ice
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. cap — a lid
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tube — a container
  11. field — farmland
  12. tube — the underground
  13. foot — a measure
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. game — wild animals
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. club — for dancing
  19. cap — a hat
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rest — a break

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