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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: bank · ruler · field · row · straw · temple · fork · game

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a line
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fork — in a road
  13. game — wild animals
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. field — farmland
  16. bank — of a river
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. field — for sport
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. field — a subject

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