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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.

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: kick · cold · craft · field · net · hand · temple · trunk

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hand — help
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. field — farmland
  20. craft — boats
  21. kick — in football
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. net — in 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