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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: pop · game · club · field · lie · can · tear · fan

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — farmland
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tear — to rip
  7. club — a group
  8. can — a tin
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. can — to be able to
  11. pop — music
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. game — a match
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — for golf
  17. pop — soda
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pop — to visit
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fan — to cool the air

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