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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.

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: rush · cold · temple · field · cabinet · net · fine · game

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rush — hurry
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. cold — not warm
  6. field — a subject
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. net — for catching
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. fine — high quality
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. fine — all right
  19. net — in sport
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. net — after costs
  24. temple — side of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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