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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · sharp · lash · pound · wound · temple · cue · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. game — a match
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cue — a hint
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. cue — for pool
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. field — farmland
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wound — an injury
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cue — a signal
  24. field — for sport

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