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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: temple · ball · racket · wave · rush · wound · net · field

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. net — after costs
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. ball — a great time
  7. field — farmland
  8. net — in sport
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. ball — a dance
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. field — a subject
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. field — for sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rush — hurry
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. racket — a loud noise

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