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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: date · track · tube · mine · shower · suit · club · field

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. club — for golf
  3. shower — rain
  4. mine — for digging
  5. tube — a container
  6. club — a group
  7. field — farmland
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. field — for sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. club — for dancing
  20. suit — to fit
  21. suit — clothes
  22. field — a subject
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. suit — in cards

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