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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: safe · field · cold · wound · club · bass · pitcher · temple

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — farmland
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. club — for golf
  5. cold — not warm
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cold — an illness
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wound — an injury
  12. club — a group
  13. bass — low music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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