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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · wind · game · mine · nail · field · trunk · mark

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — for digging
  3. club — for dancing
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. field — a subject
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. club — a group
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. field — farmland
  12. mark — a grade
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wind — moving air
  17. club — for golf
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. field — for sport
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. mine — belonging to me

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