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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
468
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: field · temple · bound · cold · court · fan · pitch · wave

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — an illness
  3. field — farmland
  4. court — for sport
  5. field — for sport
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. court — of a king
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. field — a subject
  15. cold — not warm
  16. court — of law
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. pitch — completely
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bound — obliged
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. temple — a place of worship

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