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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: last · wound · ruler · court · net · chip · bowl · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. net — after costs
  3. field — for sport
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. field — farmland
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. court — of law
  13. last — final
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chip — for betting
  17. last — to go on
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. chip — to eat
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. last — finally
  24. bowl — a football final

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