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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a cup
  5. field — a subject
  6. kick — in football
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spring — of water
  13. club — a group
  14. mug — a face
  15. cap — a lid
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. club — for dancing
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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