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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · club · cabinet · racket · tear · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. tear — to rip
  6. field — farmland
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. tear — from crying
  10. club — a group
  11. tear — from crying
  12. club — for dancing
  13. field — for sport
  14. club — for golf
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. field — a subject
  18. foot — the bottom

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