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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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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: hide · club · game · date · pound · sharp · stick · field

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. game — a match
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. field — a subject
  6. pound — a weight
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. club — a group
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. sharp — clever
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. field — for sport
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. game — wild animals
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. field — farmland
  24. club — for golf

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