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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 · wake · court · race · wave · field · dip · cabinet

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. club — a group
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. race — humankind
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. club — for golf
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. court — for sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. field — a subject
  13. wake — a trail
  14. court — of law
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. race — the arms race
  21. dip — to sink
  22. club — for dancing
  23. field — farmland
  24. court — of a king

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