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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: wind · chip · wave · bass · ground · mine · field · temple

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. field — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. field — farmland
  8. ground — a position
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. chip — for betting
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. ground — the earth
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. ground — crushed
  22. field — a subject
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bass — low music

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