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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: field · wound · roll · object · fine · net

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. wound — an injury
  6. object — a thing
  7. field — for sport
  8. fine — all right
  9. object — an aim
  10. net — in sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. net — after costs
  15. roll — a list
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — for catching
  18. object — to protest

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