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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: stick · band · mate · club · cold · field · saw · calf

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — not warm
  3. saw — the tool
  4. field — a subject
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. field — farmland
  7. saw — the tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. band — a ring
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. club — a group
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mate — a partner
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mate — a friend
  18. club — for dancing
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. band — a music group
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mate — to breed
  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