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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: hand · wake · game · roll · club · field · fork · bowl

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. club — a group
  5. hand — in cards
  6. field — for sport
  7. wake — a trail
  8. field — farmland
  9. roll — a cake
  10. club — for golf
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. game — wild animals
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. fork — in a road
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. roll — a list
  22. club — for dancing
  23. game — a match
  24. hand — help

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