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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 · content · bulb · field · nail · file · cap · court

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cap — a hat
  3. club — for dancing
  4. court — for sport
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for golf
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. court — of a king
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cap — of ice
  13. file — a tool
  14. content — the amount
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bulb — for light
  19. court — of law
  20. content — happy
  21. file — a document
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. cap — a lid
  24. file — a line of people

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