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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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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: squash · field · temple · kid · deal · pound · saw · file

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. pound — a weight
  5. file — a line of people
  6. saw — the tool
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. kid — to tease
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. saw — the tool
  14. squash — to crush
  15. deal — to handle
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. field — for sport
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. field — a subject
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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