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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: field · foot · ground · temple · bulb · pitcher · club · row

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. field — farmland
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. field — a subject
  6. foot — a measure
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — for dancing
  10. ground — a position
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bulb — for light
  15. field — for sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bulb — of a plant

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