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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 · firm · court · swing · straw · field · temple · bass

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — decided
  4. bass — low music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. firm — a company
  7. field — a subject
  8. swing — to play on
  9. field — for sport
  10. bass — the fish
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. swing — music
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wound — an injury
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. court — of a king
  18. field — farmland
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. court — of law
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. court — for sport
  24. bass — the instrument

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