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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: wound · rash · net · field · ground · firm · bound · court

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. ground — the earth
  3. firm — a company
  4. net — for catching
  5. rash — hasty
  6. court — of law
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. field — a subject
  11. court — for sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. field — farmland
  16. ground — a position
  17. firm — decided
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. net — in sport
  22. ground — crushed
  23. firm — steady
  24. bound — tied together

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