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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: rule · hand · club · saw · cap · current · bat · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. club — a group
  3. hand — help
  4. cap — of ice
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. current — happening now
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. club — for golf
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. club — for dancing
  13. rule — government
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rule — a law
  16. current — electric
  17. cap — a lid
  18. current — of water
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. field — for sport
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cap — a hat
  24. field — farmland

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