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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: bowl · wave · perch · pound · field · capital · drill · temple

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. capital — money
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. capital — a city
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. drill — the tool
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. drill — army training

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