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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: court · nail · field · club · rest · wave · net · row

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. net — after costs
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. net — in sport
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. net — for catching
  13. court — for sport
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — a break
  16. court — of law
  17. row — to paddle
  18. court — of a king
  19. rest — what's left
  20. row — a line
  21. field — a subject
  22. club — a group
  23. field — farmland
  24. wave — with your hand

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