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

Word bank: fork · march · capital · temple · race · field

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. 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. field — a subject
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. capital — a city
  7. race — humankind
  8. march — the month
  9. race — a contest
  10. field — farmland
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. fork — in a road
  14. march — music
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. 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