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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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Word bank
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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: land · fork · field · mine · present · club · foot · band

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. field — a subject
  3. mine — for digging
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. field — for sport
  7. foot — a measure
  8. present — a gift
  9. field — farmland
  10. land — ground
  11. band — a ring
  12. club — for golf
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. fork — in a road
  18. land — to come down
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. band — a music group
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. land — a country
  24. club — a group

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