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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: content · face · club · wave · net · fork · field · ground

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. club — for golf
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. field — farmland
  9. ground — a position
  10. net — after costs
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. fork — in a road
  16. face — to confront
  17. content — happy
  18. net — for catching
  19. field — a subject
  20. content — the amount
  21. net — in sport
  22. club — a group
  23. ground — crushed
  24. field — for sport

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