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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 116 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: mug · stick · club · shower · land · kid · field · ruler

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. field — a subject
  4. mug — to rob
  5. mug — a cup
  6. shower — rain
  7. land — to come down
  8. field — for sport
  9. shower — to wash
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. land — a country
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. club — for dancing
  14. land — ground
  15. kid — to tease
  16. club — for golf
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. field — farmland
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. mug — a face
  23. kid — child
  24. ruler — for measuring

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