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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: club · field · wound · season · tube · bowl · stand · game

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — to bear
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. field — farmland
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tube — a container
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. club — for golf
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. field — for sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. field — a subject
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. season — in sport
  21. game — a match
  22. club — a group
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. season — of the year

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