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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · field · game · temple · date · mark

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. land — a country
  3. game — a match
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. field — farmland
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. field — for sport
  8. land — ground
  9. field — a subject
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. date — the fruit
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mark — a grade
  14. land — to come down
  15. mark — a trace
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. temple — a place of worship

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