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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.

Make a worksheet

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: game · fork · temple · bowl · mine · wound · ground · swing

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. game — a match
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. swing — music
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. ground — the earth
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. ground — a position
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. swing — in golf
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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