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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: present · field · mug · club · stand · mate · chest · pitcher

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mug — a face
  5. present — there
  6. field — a subject
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. mug — to rob
  10. present — a gift
  11. chest — a box
  12. club — a group
  13. field — for sport
  14. mug — a cup
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — farmland
  17. present — the time now
  18. mate — a friend
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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