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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 · straw · club · face · board · field · charge · bulb

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. face — to confront
  3. club — a group
  4. charge — a price
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. club — for dancing
  7. field — for sport
  8. board — to get on
  9. charge — in control
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bulb — for light
  12. charge — electricity
  13. bulb — for light
  14. hand — help
  15. board — a committee
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. field — a subject
  18. hand — in cards
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. face — part of the head
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. face — to point toward
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. club — for golf

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