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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 · nail · court · content · pitcher · bass · firm · field

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. club — a group
  3. court — of a king
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. court — for sport
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bass — the fish
  12. firm — decided
  13. field — farmland
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. club — for golf
  17. field — a subject
  18. firm — a company
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. court — of law
  21. content — happy
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. field — for sport
  24. nail — for a hammer

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