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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.

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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: nail · spell · temple · wound · field · pitcher · content · cap

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spell — magic
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spell — a short time
  11. field — farmland
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spell — letters
  15. cap — of ice
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. field — a subject
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cap — a hat
  22. content — the amount
  23. field — for sport
  24. content — happy

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