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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. field — a subject
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. land — ground
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mine — for digging
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. last — to go on
  16. foot — a measure
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. field — farmland
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. field — for sport

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