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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: wake · lie · club · pound · field · fall

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. club — a group
  3. field — for sport
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wake — a trail
  6. field — a subject
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. field — farmland
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pound — a weight
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lie — to recline
  16. club — for golf
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth

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