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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 · wave · bat · kick · pound · club

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. club — for golf
  3. kick — in football
  4. club — a group
  5. field — farmland
  6. bat — the animal
  7. field — a subject
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. club — for dancing
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. field — for sport
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wave — a sudden rise

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