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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · hand · clip · game · mark · cabinet · temple · cell

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. field — farmland
  5. game — a match
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hand — help
  12. mark — a grade
  13. game — wild animals
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. cell — in biology
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. clip — a video
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. mark — a trace

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