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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: firm · game · field · last · wave · bat · wound · plane

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. firm — a company
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. game — a match
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — a subject
  7. last — final
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. firm — decided
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. field — for sport
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. field — farmland
  20. last — finally
  21. firm — steady
  22. plane — a tool
  23. last — to go on
  24. wound — an injury

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