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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bank — for money
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bound — certain
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bank — for money
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — a video
  14. field — for sport
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. rush — hurry
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bank — of a river
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bound — obliged
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. field — a subject

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