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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: stand · pit · club · rule · bat · game · field · board

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pit — in a race
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. field — farmland
  13. pit — a hole
  14. field — a subject
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. field — for sport
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. stand — to bear
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. club — for dancing
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. club — a group
  24. 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