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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 120 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: club · squash · board · pitcher · straw · key · field · cell

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. club — for golf
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. club — for dancing
  7. key — for a lock
  8. squash — to crush
  9. field — for sport
  10. squash — the sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. club — a group
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. board — a committee
  18. cell — in biology
  19. key — the most important part
  20. field — a subject
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. field — farmland
  24. board — to get on

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