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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: date · bass · club · mug · shower · field · can · stick

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mug — a cup
  3. can — a tin
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. shower — rain
  7. bass — low music
  8. can — to be able to
  9. mug — a face
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. club — a group
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. field — for sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. can — a tin
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. field — farmland
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. bass — the fish
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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