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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: wake · press · club · deal · field · game

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. deal — to handle
  8. field — farmland
  9. game — wild animals
  10. club — a group
  11. field — a subject
  12. wake — a trail
  13. press — to push
  14. press — a publisher
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. press — newspapers
  18. game — a match

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