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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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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: row · club · wind · kick · field · staff · firm · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. staff — employees
  3. club — for golf
  4. row — to paddle
  5. field — farmland
  6. staff — employees
  7. wind — moving air
  8. firm — a company
  9. row — a line
  10. firm — decided
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. field — a subject
  13. club — for dancing
  14. kick — in football
  15. firm — steady
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. club — a group
  23. field — for sport
  24. wind — moving air

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