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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · mate · field · file · rash · spring · foot · pitch

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. spring — of water
  4. club — for dancing
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. club — for golf
  7. file — a document
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. spring — a coil
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rash — a series
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. field — a subject
  15. mate — a partner
  16. club — a group
  17. rash — hasty
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — to breed
  20. file — a tool
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pitch — completely

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