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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: mug · cue · bore · field · content · capital · club · bass

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. field — a subject
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bass — low music
  8. bore — to tire
  9. content — the amount
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. field — farmland
  14. capital — money
  15. club — a group
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — for sport
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cue — a hint
  24. bass — the fish

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