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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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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: ball · pound · present · content · racket · field · temple · kid

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. content — the amount
  5. field — farmland
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ball — a dance
  8. field — for sport
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. kid — to tease
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — a subject
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. present — the time now
  19. pound — a weight
  20. present — a gift
  21. kid — child
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. present — there

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