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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: club · toast · shower · fork · temple · calf · field · band

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. club — a group
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. field — farmland
  5. toast — bread
  6. shower — rain
  7. band — a ring
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. field — for sport
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. band — a music group
  19. field — a subject
  20. club — for golf
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. fork — in a road
  23. club — for dancing
  24. fork — a garden tool

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