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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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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: rush · toast · field · temple · court · mouse · wind · wound

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. court — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. court — of law
  11. wind — moving air
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. court — of a king
  16. wound — an injury
  17. toast — bread
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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