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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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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 · fork · bat · deal · firm · band · field · bass

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — to handle
  4. club — for dancing
  5. band — a music group
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. club — for golf
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. field — for sport
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. firm — steady
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. band — a ring
  16. bat — the animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. fork — in a road
  19. firm — a company
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. firm — decided

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