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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: date · club · field · toast · lash · pound · cap · tube

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. pound — a weight
  4. date — the fruit
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. field — for sport
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. tube — the underground
  10. field — a subject
  11. toast — bread
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. cap — a hat
  14. club — for golf
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. field — farmland
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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