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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 120 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: stand · saw · mouse · bark · club · wake · cell · field

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. field — farmland
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. field — for sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stand — to bear
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. field — a subject

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