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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mouse · field · wound · chip · object · game · temple · racket

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. chip — to eat
  4. field — farmland
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. field — for sport
  8. object — to protest
  9. chip — for betting
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. object — a thing
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wound — an injury
  14. object — an aim
  15. game — a match
  16. field — a subject
  17. wound — an injury
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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