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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: field · calf · court · mine · hand · bulb · leaves · club

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. club — for golf
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. bulb — for light
  11. field — a subject
  12. court — for sport
  13. field — for sport
  14. hand — in cards
  15. club — a group
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. club — for dancing
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. hand — help
  24. leaves — to go away

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