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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: club · craft · fork · date · pound · field

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. craft — boats
  3. club — a group
  4. date — the fruit
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. field — farmland
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. fork — in a road
  9. craft — a skill
  10. club — for golf
  11. pound — a weight
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. club — for dancing
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. date — on the calendar

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