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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 120 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: net · season · wind · wound · field · safe · march · rule

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. season — in sport
  7. field — for sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. march — the month
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. net — after costs
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rule — government
  16. march — music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wound — an injury
  19. net — in sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. rule — a law
  22. field — farmland
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. march — the month

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