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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: file · court · deal · season · temple · foot · pound · wound

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. file — a document
  10. foot — a measure
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. file — a line of people
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — of law
  21. deal — to handle
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. pound — a weight

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