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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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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: leaves · temple · shower · field · band · chair · cell · saw

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. shower — rain
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. field — for sport
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. saw — the tool
  8. band — a music group
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. field — a subject
  11. saw — the tool
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. shower — to wash
  15. band — a ring
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cell — in biology
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. field — farmland
  24. cell — a phone

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