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

Word bank: fork · kid · temple · field · pitch · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. club — for golf
  5. kid — child
  6. club — a group
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. field — for sport
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. field — a subject
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fork — in a road
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. pitch — completely
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. field — farmland

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