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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 116 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 · band · mate · pop · fall · bat · craft · field

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pop — to visit
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. field — a subject
  7. band — a ring
  8. field — farmland
  9. band — a music group
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fall — to drop
  12. field — for sport
  13. craft — boats
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mate — to breed
  17. pop — music
  18. club — a group
  19. fall — the season
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. craft — a skill
  23. pop — soda
  24. mate — a friend

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