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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 120 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: bound · temple · foot · wound · cell · tear · pop · field

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. tear — from crying
  3. foot — a measure
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. pop — to visit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pop — soda
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wound — an injury
  22. field — farmland
  23. pop — music
  24. 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