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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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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: ground · racket · face · mouse · field · wind · temple · wake

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — farmland
  4. face — part of the head
  5. ground — crushed
  6. field — for sport
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. field — a subject
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. face — to point toward
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ground — the earth
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wake — a trail
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. face — to confront
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wake — before a funeral

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