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

Word bank: dip · tear · club · field · lie · nail

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. field — a subject
  3. club — for golf
  4. field — farmland
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. lie — to recline
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — for sport
  10. tear — to rip
  11. club — for dancing
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. tear — from crying

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