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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
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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: pit · race · net · field · temple · mine · sharp · court

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. sharp — clever
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. field — a subject
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. net — for catching
  9. pit — in a race
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. race — the arms race
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. mine — for digging
  16. race — humankind
  17. court — for sport
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. net — in sport
  21. race — a contest
  22. pit — a hole
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. net — after costs

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