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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: field · wind · calf · spell · temple · trunk · cell · file

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spell — a short time
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. field — for sport
  6. cell — a phone
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wind — moving air
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. wind — moving air
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. file — a line of people
  19. spell — magic
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spell — letters
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. temple — side of the head

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